Just Like The Stories
by nalusaurus
Summary: AU. When Lucy reads the story 'Dragon's Den', she feels like she already knows the main character. What's worse is she feels jealous of the love interest! After researching about the book she finds out the the main character is based on a real life pink-haired pyro and his little blue cat! Lucy goes out in search for him for answers as to why his feels so familiar. Nalu.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - That Funny Feeling

Lucy had always been a fast reader when she enjoyed a book, but she had never read anything quite as fast as she had Dragon's Den. She literally couldn't put the book down. It was weird. Not because she enjoyed the book but because she felt like she knew the main character. Like she somehow belonged in the story with him.

She had no idea why she felt that way. Sometimes she was even able to know what he was going to do before it was written on the page. Somehow, she felt like she had been written out of her own fairy tale and she had no idea why! The love interest to the main character, Lisanna, annoyed the hell out of her. She had no idea why. She almost thought it was jealously.

Somewhere deep in the back of her mind she was 100% sure she knew the pink-haired dragon-slayer and his furry blue companion. Maybe I met them in another life...she thought. Then quickly shook the idea away. How could she know someone who was made-up in another life? It made no sense! But still, she felt like she needed to read more about him. Despite also feeling like she already knew him. It was really hard on her brain.

Lucy groaned. Dropping the book on the bed beside her and grabbed her laptop. Maybe the author would be able to enlighten her on why she was feeling this way. She opened her laptop up and immediately typed in the books name and the author Mavis Vermillion.

Lucy felt like she had gone through a million articles before she found the one that stopped her heart for a minute. It read:

'Mavis Vermillion, author of the popular novel Dragon's Den, tells us that she actually got the idea for her main character and his blue cat-companion from a boy she met in the streets of Magnolia! Mavis said "It's actually a funny story! I was walking in Magnolia one day for inspiration for my new novel and I came across a peculiar boy with pink hair! He was with a blue cat and kept on talking to it like it was going to talk back! I decided to follow the boy around and discovered he was quite interesting! He liked setting fire to things, ate huge amount - and was very sloppy about it- and was terrified of transport! He kept on muttering 'I wish you could fly' to his cat!" So there you have it! Maybe a lucky Magnolian girl will meet this inspiration and find their true dragon-slayer!'

Lucy gasped. She had just moved to Magnolia after running away from her father. This didn't feel like a coincidence.

Lucy had made up her mind. She was going to find that pink-haired pyromaniac and settle this weird feeling in her brain once and for all!

Little did she know, meeting him would change everything…

 **Hey guys! Sorry for all the trouble from the original post! No idea what happened there :S Well I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the comments so I could catch it early :)**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. Sorry for forgetting in the first chapter!

 **Chapter Two - Searching For Answers**

It had been a Friday night when Lucy had found out about the pink-haired pyro roaming the streets of Magnolia. She had decided then and there that she would make it her goal to find him and ask him why the hell she thought she knew him! Lucy had not then taken into account the size of Magnolia.

She had run out of her apartment without thinking about it and she was now wandering the streets, _alone_ , trying to find a flash of pink hair. As a twenty year old woman, it probably wasn't the best idea she had. But she wasn't going to let the few cat calls from drunken men deter her from her goal. She had to find him.

Lucy had looked around until about midnight when she decided to give up. She needed a drink. She looked around for the closest place and found a lively bar on the street across from her called 'Fairy Tail' she smiled at the name. "Do Fairies have tails?" she whispered to herself and laughed. She stopped and and frowned. Why did she just say that? Why did 'Fairy Tail' sound so homely to her? She shrugged it off and walked in the bar.

If she thought the bar looked busy outside, it looked busier inside! There was loud music, a small dance floor at the back, overflowing with people and a long bar at the front with some cosy leather bar stools. There was also an upper level, Lucy observed, but it seemed to be for V.I.P.'s because she only saw a single blond man with a lightning scar over his eye looking down from it.

Lucy walked up to the end of the bar and hopped on a stool, instantly feeling less stressed. A beautiful white-haired barmaid made her way over to Lucy, smiling. "Hey there!" the pretty woman said "What can I get you?" her voice was sweet and welcoming, despite all the noise and bustle of the bar.

"Strawberry Daiquiri" Lucy said and returned the barmaid's smile. The barmaid walked off to fulfill her order and Lucy decided to give another look around the bar.

She saw a well built bouncer with the same white hair as the barmaid by the door, a few older men smoking in a quiet table at the back, and a whole lot of rowdy people around her age. One guy stood out in particular because he seemed to only be in his boxers. Lucy blushed as she watched his dance around. He had raven black hair and had a cross necklace on his chest. She saw a pretty woman with blue hair shout into his ear and he looked down at himself and blushed. The woman handed him some articles of clothing and he continued to dance as he put them on. Lucy giggled. There were so many interesting people here.

She was just about to turn her gaze to whoever the boy was shouting at across the room when she noticed her drink being placed in front of her. She turned around to the barmaid and smiled. She took a sip of her drink.

"So are you new around here?" the barmaid asked.

"How could you tell?" Lucy gushed, embarrassingly. The barmaid tapped the side of her nose in a gesture that told her she always knew.

"My name's Mirajane" she said and extended a hand.

"Lucy" I smiled and shook her hand "Nice to meet you, Mira" she eyed me curiously. I realised after she did that I had given her a nickname. I sipped my drink to try and ignore the weird feeling I had in this place.

"So, how do you like Fairy Tail?" she asked, obviously ignoring the weirdness that had been between them a short moment ago.

"I love it!" Lucy said, before she realised. Mira smiled and giggled a little bit.

"You'll fit right at home here!" she said before she got called off across the bar to grab someone's drink.

Lucy turned back around on her stool to observe the bar. She grabbed her drink and sucked on the straw while she looked around. She noticed that the boy she had been looking at earlier had disappeared so she tried to find a new source of entertainment. He eyes wandered over to a beautiful redhead sitting alone on a table with a large slice of strawberry cake. She was looking at her for a few minutes for before she felt an arm drape itself across her shoulders.

"Oh look we have a new girl!" The brunette shouted next to her, obviously drunk. Lucy looked up at her. She had pretty, brown curly hair, she wore a blue bikini top and brown three-quarter trousers.

"Hey there girly!" she said down to Lucy. "Name's Cana and I believe we are drinking together tonight!" she smiled down at her before shouting "Mira! Four tequila shots! Put 'em on my tab!"

Lucy wasn't sure what to do. She decided to enjoy free drinks. "So what's you're name Blondie?" Cana asked slyly.

"Lucy!" she shouted and extended her hand, Cana quickly took it.

"Alright!" she shouted "Let's get you drunk!"

Lucy and Cana spent the next hour getting wasted and talking all about their lives. By the time Lucy realised it was one in the morning, she didn't really care. She decided to keep talking to Cana. Mira had occasionally listened to their talks and commented at points and now she was listening to Lucy's intently as she was telling Cana why she ended up in Fairy Tail.

"So I read this amazing book today" Lucy said, slurring her words slightly and seeming a little too enthusiastic " _Dragon's Den,_ you've probably heard of it" the girls both nodded "and I kept on getting this feeling like I knew the main character" Mira and Cana looked at each other.

"I mean that's crazy because I'm pretty sure I would have met a pink-haired boy in my life! I mean, pink is the best colour so I wouldn't have let someone like that slip through my hands!" Lucy said, a little too honestly. The girls once again looked at each other, this time smiling a little, Lucy was oblivious to both these things. "And I mean I kept on feeling jealous of the love interest! Isn't that so weird?" Lucy looked over to the girls who both laughed a little but Lucy shrugged it off.

"Anyway! So I did a little digging on the book and apparently the character is based on a _real guy._ Who lives here in Magnolia! Isn't that crazy?" Cana and Mira laughed once again but Lucy wasn't sure she got the joke. "So I basically spent three hours this afternoon looking for him and then I gave up and came here!" She smiled. The girls both broke out in a fit of hysterics.

"What?" Lucy said, confused at her two new friends. They both stopped laughing and looked at each other. Cana sighed and said "You can do it" to Mira who consequently squealed in delight.

"We know who he is!" Mira shouted. Lucy decided after hearing that, that it was a good time to pass out.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters!

 **Chapter Three - That Pink Haired Pyro**

Lucy awoke with a groan. She decided to try and think what the hell just happened before opening her eyes. _What the hell did happen?_ Lucy asked herself. Her head hurt. She must be hungover. Why was she drinking again?

 _Oh god,_ Lucy thought, _I did something stupid, didn't I?_ Lucy's mind reeled when she remembered the book she was reading. _Oh yeah..._ she thought. And then it all came flooding back. Trying to look for that pink-haired idiot, finding Fairy Tail...and drinking. Drinking a lot. _That explains why my head hurts..._ but what happened after that?

Lucy decided her best course of action would probably be to open her eyes and pray that she was back in her nice, warm, comfy bed. She cracked an eye open to find she was not in her apartment. She _was_ in a nice, warm, comfy bed. But it was definitely _not_ her bed. Lucy panicked slightly before deciding to look around. She was in a bedroom with cream walls, a red carpet, red bedcovers, red curtains, a red desk with a red desk chair... _Jeez, somebody likes red._ She saw a bunch of dragon posters stuck on the walls and a collection of dragon figurines scattered along the desk.

"Whoever lives here is pretty easy to figure out" Lucy mumbled.

Why was she here though? Where was here?

"Ughh" she groaned at all the unanswered questions. She decided to close her eyes again to see if that would make a difference.

Wasn't she talking to Mira and Cana before she passed out (or at least that's what she assumed happened)? What were they talking about? Wait! _Didn't I tell them about that book...and that guy…_

"Hmmm" Lucy rattled her brains trying to figure out what happened next _They said something..._ it took her a minute before the words came back to her. _They knew him._ Lucy almost screamed before she remembered she was in a stranger's house. It ended up sounding like a strangled squeak.

Suddenly Lucy opened her eyes, very alert. All she had to do was find Cana and Mira again and all her questions would be answered! She could finally meet him and set her mind at ease!

Lucy jumped out of the bed and danced around a little on the floor, ecstatic with the news. It took her a couple of minutes to realise she wasn't in the dress she was wearing last night. She gasped as she looked down and noticed she was wearing an oversized red t-shirt and _no bra._ Her eyes widened and she screamed. _Oh god! What happened?!_ Lucy panicked.

She heard footsteps fast approaching the door and then it swung open to reveal a topless man with a _very_ well toned chest. He was only wearing boxers. An observation that somehow came before the enlightenment that the man in front of her had the most beautiful _pink_ hair. He had onyx eyes that bore a hole into her, looking with frustration and a bit of worry. _It's him._ Lucy screamed again.

"Gah! What the hell?!" he shouted at her, covering his ears until she stopped screaming.

"Oh my god! It's really you!" She shouted, a little too loud. He continued frowning at her.

"What?" he asked in confusion "Geez, you're such a weirdo!" she started laughing uncontrollably which seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable. For some reason she felt relief when he called her a 'weirdo', instead of anger. She was tempted to run over and hug him for some reason though she decided not to when she realised she didn't even know his name. _Also why is he half naked? And why I am half naked?!_

"Ahhh!" She shouted, once again annoying him.

"Jeez! Stop with all the loud noises blondie! I thought you might actually be hurt or somethin' but no! You're just screamin' about nothing!" he crossed his arms but seemed more amused than angry.

"Sorry…" Lucy said quitely. Then she remembered her state of dress. "Wait! Why should I be sorry? Why am I in your bed half naked?!" She shouted. He seemed to blush slightly before uncrossing his arms.

"Oh right" he scratched his head "Well, Mira and Cana bought you to my place last night cause they said you needed a place to stay seein' as they didn't have you're address and you passed out and all. So I said sure and then they asked for a change of clothes and they changed you. End of story."

"Oh" Lucy simply said. At least he's not a perv. Wait. She then remembered his state of dress. "Then why are you half naked?" she said, a little too loudly.

He scratched his head and blushed again, putting his head down to try and hide it.

"Well I sleep like this…" he said, then quickly added "but I slept on the couch so don't think I'm a perv or anything! That's more icebrains job anyway…" he seemed to mutter the last part to himself more than anything else.

"Okay" Lucy said, wondering who he was referring to when he said 'icebrains'. She had almost forgotten the reason why she had wanted to see him in the first place.

"Oh yeah…" she muttered quietly to herself.

"What?" he asked, curiously. _Wow,_ she thought, _he had good hearing_. Then she noticed, she didn't even know his name!

"What's your name?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. He seemed to light up a bit at that question. Like a school kid when they knew the right answer.

"I'm Natsu!" he smiled and extended his hand. Lucy quickly closed the space between them to shake it.

"I'm Lucy! Nice to meet you Natsu!" she smiled, a genuine smile.

"Nice to meet you too!" he gave her a dazzling, toothy grin. Beaming from ear to ear. Lucy's heart fluttered . She quickly took her hand back from him and dropped her head until the redness on her face went away.

"Oh!" Lucy said, looking up again "I almost forgot to tell you the reason I'm here!" she was being so forgetful today. This guy was messing with her head.

"Didn't I already tell you the reason you were here?" he asked, crossing his arms again "Tsk, Weirdo" he commented.

"No!" Lucy shouted a little too enthusiastically. He looked confused but continued to listen regardless. "I mean you gave me _a_ reason but not _the_ reason" she said, simply.

"So what's _the_ reason?" he asked, looking unconvinced.

"Well, I told Mira and Cana that I was looking for you and that's probably why they bought me to you" Lucy confessed, blushing a little bit. She looked down, a little scared of his reaction.

"Hmm" he started "I thought you didn't know me?" he asked.

"I don't" Lucy admitted "but I was looking for a guy with pink hair and a blue cat" she looked up at him.

"Oh…" he scratched his head "are you one of those _Dragon's Den_ fans? Cause I don't do autographs or anything and I aint really a dragon slayer"

"No!" Lucy shouted, a little too loudly. He looked a little relieved. "Well I read the book but I didn't come here because I'm a fan" he looked confused again "I came here because when I read the book it felt like I _knew_ you. I thought you could maybe enlighten me as to why I'm feeling this way" he looked a bit shocked at the statement then seemed to go deep in thought.

"So I'm not the only one…" he mumbled to himself, Lucy was barely able to hear it but those words flooded her with relief.

Suddenly Natsu ran out of the room, leaving Lucy to worry that she had freaked him out too much. Before Lucy could start crying at her stupidity, Natsu was back in the room with a little blue cat in his hands.

The cat immediately proceeded to rush out of Natsu's arms and run towards Lucy. He brushed his soft blue fur against her legs and looked up at her as if to goad her into picking him up, which she did. She felt completely at ease with the blue cat in her arms and he purred as she stroked his head. He pushed his head against her had to tell her to continue petting him.

"I knew it!" Natsu shouted. Lucy had almost forgotten that he was in the room. She looked at him, not sure what he meant.

"You knew what?" she asked as she continued petting the cat in her arms.

"Happy feels the same way!" he shouted, adding "Happy's my cat" when Lucy looked even more confused. She looked down at Happy and smiled, he rubbed his head against her chest in reply.

"Happy is never this good with strangers but he took a liking to you as soon as he saw you!" Natsu said enthusiastically.

"So I'm not crazy?" Lucy felt relieved and bubbling with joy. She felt like she had found something missing in her life. The pink-haired boy and his blue cat filled a void she didn't even know she had. But now it was filled she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with happiness.

"Nah" Natsu said and smiled at her "You're just a weirdo!" he chuckled. She gave him an angry look and he stopped abruptly.

Lucy suddenly burst out laughing. It confused Natsu at first but then he quickly joined in. She decided to sit on the end of his bed and let Happy curl up on her lap. She stopped laughing when she realised Natsu had stopped and was watching her intensely. She blushed quickly.

"I've only just met you but I feel like I've known you forever" he admitted, scratching the back of his head and letting a light blush polish his cheeks.

"It's like a missing piece that I didn't even know was missing" Lucy let the statement out before she even realised it and quickly put her hand over her mouth. To her surprise he just smiled at her and nodded.

"Would it be weird if I asked you to spend the day with us?" he asked. Lucy smiled and tried to ignore the racing of her heart.

"Nope" she said "That sounds perfect!"

"Alright" he pumped his fist in the air like a child getting what they wanted. It made Lucy giggle. "Let's get dressed and get going!" he shouted. Lucy squealed a little when she remembered their state of dress.

"Umm, could we go to mine first so I can get some new clothes?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure" he shrugged and then proceeded to pull some clothes out of his draws and get dressed in front of her. Lucy felt a little awkward about it but at least he wasn't changing his boxers. She felt both relieved and a little disgusted by that fact.

After he was dressed, Lucy kicked him and Happy out of the room to get changed back into her clothes from last night, which were on a pile on his desk. Once she was done, she left his bedroom to find Happy and Natsu waiting in the lounge in a staring contest.

"Alright! Luigi's done changing!" he roared "Let's go, Little Buddy!"

"It's Lucy, you idiot!" she shouted but laughed a little at his enthusiasm.

Before she knew it, they were off and starting a whole new adventure. Lucy had no idea where he was going to take her after they got to her house, but she felt like she would follow him anywhere.

 **Sorry about the weird finality of the last sentence! I'm not finished with this yet, there is still a lot more to come. Thanks to everyone who is reading, I hope you enjoy it! I will be updating as regularly as possible but obviously I have other things in the way. I will try and update at least once a week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four - Meeting the Fairies**

On the way to her apartment, Lucy watched Natsu in a seemingly deep conversation with his cat. She giggled to herself. However, she already knew that anyone who saw them and called him crazy would be wrong. Happy was a very expressive cat so it was pretty easy to tell what was on his mind - even for Lucy. Seeing how long Natsu had known him, he was probably able to carry a conversation with the cat without too much problem. It did amaze Lucy how the cat actually had opinions on things though. It was a bizarre creature.

"Luuuucyyyy!" Natsu moaned after they had been walking for twenty minutes. Happy yowled in complaint at the same time. Without needed further explanation, she knew that they were bored.

"We're only about five minutes away so stop complaining!" she said, a little too loud not to seem annoyed. Natsu knotted his hands behind his head and looked down at his furry blue companion.

"We picked up a real weird one" Natsu whispered loudly. Happy yowled in agreement before Lucy stopped walking and turned round to give them a menacing stare.

"I can hear you, you know!" she growled, turning back and stomping the rest of the way to her apartment. Natsu and Happy duefully followed her naming things that might be in the home of a weirdo. It took all of her strength not to turn around and smack both man and cat on the head.

Lucy fumbled around in her purse - which she thankfully had not lost last night - and pulled out her keys. She shoved them in the door and twisted them, unclicking the lock. She turned the door handle and pushed the door open. Before she could step inside, Natsu and Happy raced ahead of her.

"Don't you dare break anything!" she snapped, but it didn't seem to deter them from running around, touching all of Lucy's things and poking around in her draws. Lucy sat down on the sofa in her lounge and she watched them raid her fridge. She closed her eyes and sighed. Once she opened them again they were no where in site. Lucy rolled her eyes and made her way to her bedroom. The coast seemed clear so she locked the door and pulled some fresh clothes out of her drawer.

Lucy had stripped down to her underwear before she heard the strange noise behind her. She slowly turned around expecting the worst. Natsu and Happy were digging around in her underwear drawer. Happy was in the drawer, with a lacy red bra on his head while Natsu was observing a thong in confusion. She panicked as to how they had gotten in when she saw her ensuite door open. _Dammit,_ she screamed her head. Then, as any sensible woman would do in the same situation, she screamed outside her head as well.

Natsu turned to look at her immediately, thong still in hand, he covered his ears. He opened his mouth to complain about her being too loud when he saw her state of dress and blushed, moving his hands from over his ears to over his eyes.

"Shit, Luce, I'm sorry!" he said, panicking as she had done earlier.

"It's not completely your fault" Lucy grumbled honestly and then looked over at him and saw her underwear still in his hand. "Can you put my pants back in the drawer please?!" she shouted at him. He was so scared of her hitting him that he forgot she was half naked so he released his hands from his eyes, threw her underwear back in the draw, and by the time he looked at her again he face was back to a burning red mess. The worst part was he couldn't look away. He just stood frozen as his eyes raked over her body and he gulped loudly.

Lucy was about to scream again when he picked Happy up, threw her bra off him, unlocked the door and dashed out, leaving her in a haze. Lucy shook her head, wondering what that was all about. _Did he not like what he saw_? Lucy wondered at the back of her mind but quickly hit herself. _I don't care anyway, so it doesn't matter if he doesn't like me like that! I mean we only met this morning!_ Lucy tried to convince her mind but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

She pulled on a blue mini skirt and a blue and white shirt with a zip up front. She put her belt with her key collection hanging over her hips, tied her hair to the side in a blue ribbon and pulled on her black boots, ready to go. She walked out of her room cautiously, hoping Natsu hadn't run out of her apartment with the rush he seemed to be in earlier. Lucy blushed slightly at the memory and then shook her head before she saw Natsu snoring away on the couch with Happy curled up on his lap. She frowned. _I swear I didn't take that long…_

Lucy walked over to him and shook him away. He opened his eyes slowly and stared right into her eyes. Their faces were only inches apart and Lucy blushed when she noticed and quickly jumped back. She nearly tripped over the coffee table before Natsu jumped up, Happy escaping before he would land on the floor, and yanked her arms back to him. They both fell back onto the couch. Lucy ended up on top of him, his arms around her waist, and their faces were just as close as before. _Great,_ Lucy thought, _you just made things worst! Way to go, Lucy!_ she blushed again as she saw Natsu staring intensely into her eyes. She tried to pull away but his grip on her waist was firm so she just ended grinding up against him. Lucy bit her lip. Happy yowled at them and Natsu's intense stare immediately snapped away and he let go of her waist, letting her jump off the sofa.

Lucy's mind was reeling, she had no idea what to think. Natsu seemed to just ignore what happen five seconds ago when he jumped up off the sofa and gave her his dashing grin.

"You ready to go?" he asked, grinning away. She smiled back and simply nodded at him, not trusting her voice to be even. They stood there in silence for a minute before Happy yowled. They both walked to the door, Lucy grabbed her purse and let the boys out ahead of her before she locked her door and turned back to face them.

"So where are we going?" Lucy asked in curiousity. Natsu turned back to face her and smiled.

"Home" he said simply, and turned back around before Lucy could ask another question. Once again he knotted his fingers behind his head and started a cheerful conversation with Happy. Lucy gave a small smile to their backs, despite still feeling a little awkward. _If Natsu won't let it get to him, neither will I!_ She thought to herself, determinedly.

Despite her determination, Lucy could help but let her mind wander. _Maybe he had a girlfriend? Maybe he already like someone else? Maybe he just didn't like her? Maybe his love interest in the book is real too..._ Lucy drove herself a little insane thinking all of these things and she couldn't help but notice she was acting a little jealous over a guy she had just met this morning. _This is so weird..._ She moaned in her head, _Maybe I am a weirdo..._ she frowned.

"Hey, Lucy! What's up?" Natsu asked, concerned. She hadn't noticed he had turned around to talk to her. She shook her head and replaced her frown with a smile.

"Nothing!" She said, a little too quickly "Just being a weirdo again! You know me!" she laughed a little but this only made Natsu frown. He obviously didn't believe her.

"You know you can tell me when you have a problem, Lucy" he started, he unlaced his fingers from behind his head and crossed his arms. "That's what best friends are for, right?" he smiled at her, but concern still twinkled in his eyes. Lucy felt her heart race a little and felt the need to smack herself over where her heart was. She refrained from it so she wouldn't look any more suspicious.

"Best friends?" she asked, smiling a little at the idea. Natsu returned her smile, safely believing that he had cheered her up.

"Of course, weirdo!" he grinned, uncrossing his arms to swing one over her shoulder "What else would we be?" Lucy couldn't help but laugh. They had only met this morning and according to Natsu they were already best friend. She had to admit, despite being a bit immature, she really loved his outlook on life.

"Yeah" Lucy agreed, earning another beaming smile from him "Best friends". They walked the rest of the way to 'Home' with Natsu's arm draped over her shoulder's, talking about themselves and getting to know each other. It was nice. It just felt right.

* * *

Lucy stood outside of the 'Fairy Tail' bar for the second time in her life. The morning light illuminated the large white name that sat on top on the old, seemingly out of place building. Lucy laughed. It was so weird. Because just as Natsu said, it did feel like _home_.

She looked up at Natsu who smiled down at her, arm still on her shoulders. Happy moaned at them after a full minute of unbreaking smiles and stares and they decided to walk into the bar. As soon as they were in, he retracted his arm from her shoulders.

"I'm baaack!" He shouted and quickly ran over to the raven haired boy Lucy had observed last night. She laughed as she saw him punch him in the face as a kind of greeting. Lucy look down and saw Happy, who didn't seem interested in starting a fight. She decided to pick him up, much to his approval, and walk over to the bar where she saw Mirajane eyeing her with a mischievous grin on her face. Happy purred in her arms and snuggled into her chest as she sat down on a bar stool. Mira looked down and the comfy cat and giggled.

"I see Happy's taken a liking to you" she winked, making Lucy blush a little.

"He's a little rascal but I love him" Lucy admitted looking down at the cat who seemed to be asleep in her arms.

"The cat or the boy?" Mira asked with raised eyebrows making Lucy blush fiercely and nearly drop Happy.

"The cat of course!" Lucy spluttered "I only just met Natsu, how could I love him?" she asked, unsure as to if the question was aimed at Mira or herself. She shook her head. Mira only laughed and started wiping down the bar.

"How's my favourite blondie!" Lucy heard a shout, she looked over to find Cana making her way to the bar stool next to hers. As soon as Cana sat down, Happy seemed to wake up and he hissed at her. Cana gave the cat a mean look and it hid its head in Lucy's cleavage. Lucy laughed a little. _At least he is over my shirt instead of under it._

"Stupid cat hates everyone that goes near it" Cana grumbled, Lucy looked confused. She had gotten on with Happy the second they had met. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mira's giggles. "What?" Cana asked, not realising that she was laughing at Lucy and not her.

"Happy seems to loooove Lucy!" Mira said between giggles. Cana eyes the cat, who took his head out from Lucy's chest to his at them. Lucy cuddled him closer and he purred.

"Don't worry, Happy!" Lucy said "They're just meanies" Happy seemed to approve of this statement and rubbed his head against her chest. Cana started joining in on Mira's giggles but they stopped when Lucy gave them an unimpressed look. Happy set his head down on her arm and closed his eyes to sleep again.

"Soooo" Cana started "How was your little sleepover with Natsu last night?" she winked. Lucy blushed a little but rolled her eyes.

"He slept on the couch in the lounge so I'd hardly call that a sleepover" Cana seemed less than impressed.

"Awww, come on, Lucy! You're telling me didn't even take a peek at the goods?" Cana said softly to her. Lucy blushed furiously for what felt like the hundredth time that day and thought back to Natsu in only his boxers. She had obviously taken too long to think of an answer because Cana grinned at her and said "Oh, Lucy! I never knew you were a pervert!" she teased.

"I'm not!" Lucy shouted, a little too loudly apparently because she seemed to catch the attention of everyone in the guild. Lucy put her head down, completely embarrassed. She didn't even know these people.

"Such a perv!" Cana chuckled and took a swig from a bottle that Mirajane had just laid down on the bar.

"Who's a perv?" Lucy turned around and found that the voice belong to Natsu. She squealed a little bit before eyeing Cana to see what she would say. Cana raised her hands in the air in defeat and said "What you do in the bedroom has nothing to do with me!" Lucy's face went completely flush and Cana walked away looking smug.

"Huh?" Natsu looked completely confused. Lucy was glad that he was so dense. She did not want to have that conversation. Mirajane giggled behind the bar and Natsu frowned at her. She said nothing. He looked down at Happy snuggled up against Lucy's chest. The cat seemed to have woken up and it yowled at him. Natsu suddenly went red and scratched the back of his head nervously. He looked away from Lucy and she could tell that the cat had told him something.

"Damn cat" she muttered, she met Happy's glare but the two remained cuddled up. Happy rubbed his head against her chest again as an apology. Lucy was too weak to his cuteness not to accept it. She lifted him up to her face and he began to lick her cheek. She giggled, completely forgetting the whole ordeal with Cana. Happy stopped abruptly to look over at his friend who had his arms crossed and a not-so-pleased expression on his face. He didn't say anything but the look was enough to convince Happy to jump out of her arms and onto the counter.

She ignored Natsu and began stroking Happy's head and he curled up on the counter. He purred sweetly and quickly fell asleep. _All this cat does is sleep,_ Lucy thought. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt an arm slip over her shoulders. She didn't need to look up to know the familiar weight was Natsu.

She looked over at him and he gave her a huge, heart stopping grin. "Hey, Luce! I want you to meet everyone!" he said enthusiastically. She couldn't help but return the smile and nod in agreement. He dragged her off the barstool and over to a group sitting on a table near the back of the bar. She felt kind of intimidated, looking over the group. She shuffled awkwardly under the gaze of the whole guild. Natsu squeezed her shoulder to try and convince her it was okay. He continued to drag her forward and pulled her down to sit next to him on the table, he dropped his arm from her shoulders and she shivered slightly from the loss of warmth.

"Hey guys!" Natsu shouted to the group "This is my best friend Lucy!" they all eyed her curiously. She saw the raven haired man she had eyed earlier smirking at her. She smiled back despite feeling awkward.

"Hey, I'm Gray!" he said with a genuine smile, she sighed a little feeling that she had made one friend. "Sorry for that flame brained idiot!" he pointed to Natsu.

"Hey!" Natsu shouted and suddenly stood up on the table "Don't insult me, ice princess!"

"I can do what I like dumbass!" Gray shouted "How'd you get a girl like Lucy to be friends with you anyway? She's way out of your league!" he said to add insult to injury, smiling as he saw he got to Natsu. Lucy blushed a bit but mostly felt awkward for causing a fuss.

"Don't say stupid shit to me, pervert! There aint no leagues in friendship!" Natsu clearly didn't get it.

"Be quiet!" an intimidating red-haired woman shouted and they both immediately shut up. Natsu, begrudgingly, plonked back down onto his seat, muttering curses under his breath. "Thank you. Hello, Lucy" she smiled, Lucy noticed just how beautiful she was "I'm Erza! It's a pleasure to meet you"

"It's a pleasure to meet you to" Lucy shook her hand; a firm handshake.

"I'm Levy!" a petite, pretty blue-haired woman chimed "Nice to meet you Lucy!" Lucy noticed her clutching a book to her chest and smiled to herself. _Well be good friends,_ she thought.

"It's nice to meet you, Levy! I see you're a bookworm just like I am!" the girls laughed together before they heard a loud cough. Levy turned round to look at a black haired guy with piercings all over his face. Levy rolled her eyes at him before she turned back to Lucy and said "This is my boyfriend, Gajeel. Don't mind him" she snickered.

"Nice to meet ya, bunny girl!" he nodded. Before Lucy could say anything in response, Natsu decided to spring to life again. He jumped out of his seat and left leaving Lucy feeling uneasy.

"Hi!" Lucy heard from the last person on the table. She was a petite blue-haired girl, her hair a darker shade than Levy's, she seemed a little young to be in a bar but she didn't look all that out of place. I smiled at her, she seemed just as shy as I was. "I'm Wendy" she said, looking worried as if I was going to judge her.

"Hey, Wendy!" I gave her the best smile I could muster "It's really nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too!" she quickly chimed and smiled back at me. She was adorable.

"You have really pretty hair" I confessed, which earned me another smile from her and a strange look from the guys on the table.

"Thanks! You do to!" she said, just as Natsu returned to the table, Happy in hand. The cat soon jumped out of his arms into Lucy's lap.

"Happy!" Natsu growled in a warning. Lucy looked up at Natsu and smiled, trying to convey that it was alright. She petted the cat as the group continued talking. Lucy was told all about Natsu and Gray's constant fighting, Levy's huge book collection, Wendy's cat Carla and her relationship with Happy. Gajeel didn't seem to speak much, Lucy noticed, but the way he looked at Levy told her everything she needed to know about him.

Before she knew it, it was lunch time. They all continued talking over their meals - excluding Natsu who could hardly get a word out at the rate he shoved food down his gullet - Lucy was told that they all met at Fairy Tail when they were quite young (apart from Wendy, who came in later thanks to her friend Romeo) because it used to do a youth club before it opened as a bar in the evenings. She laughed as they told her about their escapades. There we a lot of stories about Natsu's idiocy which made him blush whenever they were told to her. She thought it was adorable.

"So, Lucy" Gray began "What made you become friends with an idiot like dragon breath over here?" Lucy blushed before laughing at Natsu's reaction.

"It's a funny story actually, I read that book that was based on him and felt like I knew the character. I went out to find him and managed to end up at Fairy Tail last night. I passed out from drinking with Cana" a lot of 'not surprisings' were mumbled across the room before she could continue her story "and then I woke up in Natsu's bed" Lucy laughed as she finished her story but she noticed the odd looks she was given. "Not like that!" she quickly shouted "I mean he took me in, let me sleep on his bed and he slept on the couch! Then we met in the morning...well I met him at least…" this seemed to calm everyone down but she saw a few curious faces.

"So wait," Gray said "You only met this morning?" Lucy and Natsu nodded "But that idiot said you were best friends!" he shouted, completely confused.

"We are!" Natsu defended "Just cause we met this morning don't mean we aint best friends!"

"That logic is crazy" Gray sighed.

"I feel like I've known Luce forever so it don't seem crazy to me" Natsu said honestly, making Lucy's heart race yet again. _What's happening to me?_ Lucy thought. I caught Natsu beaming down at me and smiled back. _I don't think I've smiled this much since Mama was still alive,_ she thought, sadly.

"Are you staying to drink with us this evening?" Levy asked but Lucy looked unsure "Come on! We can celebrate meeting you!" she goaded, and Lucy nodded, caving in.

"I guess it couldn't hurt" Lucy mumbled. But something told her it wasn't going to be a simple night out.

 **Hey guys! Thanks for all the favourite, follows and reviews! :) I'm really enjoying writing this so its nice that people are enjoying reading it too!**

 **As I said before I'll be aiming for one update a week but it might end up being more until the summer holidays end and I get back to uni! I kind of feel like I'm on a roll at the moment! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one is already started so it should be out before the end of this week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry this is posted so late! I was planning on doing it on Friday but I've been so busy I haven'y had time until now! I've only had about 10 hours sleep in the past 48 hours so apologies again! I will post another chapter in the next few days to make up for it! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters!**

 **Chapter Five - Night of the Fairies**

Lucy and Natsu had left the bar not too long after agreeing to meet everyone back there in the evening. They decided to go back to Lucy's place so that Lucy would be able to have a shower and change before they went out again. Lucy was currently sitting on the couch with a less-than-impressed look on her face and Natsu and Happy rummaged through her fridge, grabbing items at random to eat. After about ten minutes, Natsu sat down on the sofa next to her and spilled all the food in his arms onto the coffee table in front of them. Lucy sighed as she watched him scan the food to see what to eat first. He decided with her left overs from the other day and started shoving food into his mouth his his hands. Happy, on the other hand, sat down on the floor next to her feet and munched on a fresh fish that she had been waiting to use for dinner tonight. It still impressed her how Happy was able to get up on the counter and open the fridge without Natsu's help.

"Did you leave me anything to eat?" She asked Natsu as he scarfed down things that Lucy didn't even remember putting in her fridge.

"Ooo can af' some of iss" He said, spitting food everywhere. She smiled but politely pushed the food that he offered back towards him and shook her head.

"I'll take that as a no" she muttered to herself, somehow knowing that Natsu could hear. He watched her intently and as he finished off the rest of the food. She didn't need to look at him to feel his burning gaze, so she simply rested her head in her hands and let her mind wonder about what would happen tonight.

Natsu finished he large mouthful with a large gulp and furrowed his brows at Lucy.

"Hey, Luce? What do you want to do until we have to go?" he smiled. She looked over at him, almost forgetting he was here.

"Shower" Lucy said, feeling grimy after watching Natsu eating.

"Okay" he smiled and started, to Lucy's surprise, cleaning up the mess he had made with his food. Lucy sighed, again, and picked herself up and moved into her room, closing the door behind her. She went through her drawers and picked out a new dress to wear, and some new underwear. She went into her ensuite, closed the door, put her fresh clothes on the sink and undressed.

She stepped into the shower and turned it on, making sure to turn the water to as hot as it could get. The shower quickly steamed up and Lucy sighed enjoying how the scalding water relaxed her. She always loved the heat. Lucy put her head under the water until her hair was completely soaked. She leaned against the shower wall for a minute, just enjoying the feel of the water on her skin before she made a move to find her shampoo.

"Just the way I like it" Lucy froze. Why did she feel like she just heard another voice in her shower? Surely she would have heard them come in right? But the humming behind her fully convinced her that she had a shower buddy. Lucy turned around and was not surprised to find Natsu standing under the shower head, eyes closed, soaking his hair. She was really glad that her shower was pretty large.

"Gah!" she shouted, making Natsu open his eyes and look at her "What the hell are you doing here?!" He frowned and looked at her like she was crazy.

"You said you wanted us to have a shower" he shrugged. Lucy quietly swallowed when the movement in his shoulder made her notice just how naked he was. Luckily the steam obscured anything below the waist - that would have been an awkward conversation. She followed a droplet of water that cascaded from his shoulder, over his collar, down his pecs and his six pack, only to disappear beyond the steam. She breathed in sharply and blushed, forcing herself to look back up and his face. His eyes were once again closed, he faced the water, humming at the warmth. She was really glad he didn't see that. He seemed to notice she was staring at him again.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked, she could see he looked a little hurt. She sighed and gave in. Damn this man and his puppy dog eyes. If it was anyone else she would have pushed them out immediately, but with the feeling that she had known him forever, also came with the feeling that he was dense enough that it was okay and she trusted him for some reason. That, and the fact that she was scared that if she pushed him out they would both see a bit more than they wanted of themselves. She would just have to get him back later for the annoyance.

"No, its fine" she smiled, trying to convince herself "Just don't be a perv!" she growled. She hadn't seen him looking but she felt very exposed. She covered her chest with her arms and once again reached down to get the shampoo bottle. He laughed a little at her statement, looking extremely pleased that she had let him stay and she started to wonder if it would be okay to take back her words. He eyes her curiously as she covered her breasts with her arms and poured some shampoo onto her hands.

"Turn around" she ordered. He frowned at her in confusion but did as she asked. Lucy ran her shampooed hands through his pink locks and was rewarded with a soft purr. She giggled a little at this but continued to lather the shampoo in his hair until it was all white. She pulled her hands out of his hair with a little complaint on his part.

"You can turn back around now" she said "Don't forget to rinse your hair out" she stated, knowing his child-like tendencies might cause him to forget. She felt like a babysitter. A wet, naked babysitter. At least Natsu didn't seem to have the capacity in his brain to think of her as anything else than a friend. She watching him wash the shampoo out of his hair and couldn't stop when her heart started racing a little. When he was done, he looked at her and smiled.

"Your turn" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her around. He took the shampoo from her, put some in his hands and then put the bottle back where it came from. He came a little too close for comfort before his hands dived into her golden locks. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from moaning, it was like he was giving her a really good head-massage. Instead, she sighed and smiled. She was acutely aware that he was so close she could feel his body heat radiating off him. At least they weren't touching. Lucy shivered as he pulled his hands out of her hair, they stroked the back of her neck before pulled away completely.

She turned around and smiled, trying to steady her racing heart. He gave her his usual sloppy grin. She walked under the water, closing her eyes and running her own hands through her hair to help the water drain away the shampoo. Once Lucy was done she opened her eyes to see Natsu had been messing around with all of her bath products and had somehow ended up with a white moustache on his face. She laughed and soon enough her laughed with her. He then gave her matching facial hair which did not please her. It soon ended in bath products being thrown all over the shower, Lucy and Natsu both completely covered. They stopped their war and realised how ridiculous they looked and both burst out laughing again.

They both sheltered under the shower head, shoulder to shoulder, in attempts to clean themselves. It took about ten minutes for them to be completely clean. After that, Lucy decided to turn off the water. They looked at each other for a minute before Lucy noticed the steam disappearing and quickly jumped out of the shower, grabbing a towel as quickly as possible. She wrapped her body up, facing away from Natsu. She grabbed another towel when she heard him getting out of the shower. She turned around with closed eyes and extended her hand with the towel in. Once he took in she kept her eyes closed for a while before opening them to see his lower half covered by her fluffy white towel. She sighed, not knowing she was holding her breath. He eyed her curiously.

"I can dry you if you like" he offered and smiled. Lucy let out a quick squeal and shook her head vigorously shook her head.

She grabbed her clean clothes, realising that Natsu must've seen her lacy, red undergarments and turned around to move to the door.

"I'll change in my room, you can change in here" she said abruptly, not waiting for a reply before she rushed out. Once she was in her room, she changed at lightning speed and sighed. _That wasn't awkward at all, Lucy_ she said in her mind. She sat on her bed and laid back. After a few minutes the ensuite door opened to reveal Natsu in his black jeans from this morning completely topless, drying his hair with the towel she had given him.

"I left my top in here" he said, which made Lucy wonder how it had gotten there. The bright red top was right by the ensuite door so he must've chucked it out in the bedroom before closing the bathroom door. She watched him pick it up and pull it on, trying to convince herself it wasn't pervy. He had a great body. It was okay for her to appreciate it. Right? She shook her head to try and dissipate those thoughts and smiled at him.

"You look nice" he smiled. She looked down and remembered she was wearing her new dress. It was black with white trim over it. She looked damn good in it too.

"Thanks" she said "Did you want to change too?" she asked.

"Nah" he said and finished drying his hair, throwing the towel back into the ensuite once he was done. They heard a meow from the bedroom door and Natsu quickly opened it to reveal his blue cat. "Don't give me that look, Happy!" he said, confusing Lucy. "Really?" he said, continuing his conversation with cat. "Shit" he muttered. Happy yowled loudly. "Yeah, okay! We'll go now, okay?" Happy seemed content with what Natsu had said and walked out of the room. Natsu turned back to Lucy. "Time to go!" he cheered and left her to pull on her black boots.

They reconvened at the door, Lucy grabbed her purse and then left for Fairy Tail, both in a good mood.

* * *

They didn't speak much on the way. By the time they got to Fairy Tail, it was packed. They skipped the queue and went straight to the door.

"Yo! Elfman!" Natsu shouted, the large, white-haired man turned around and smiled at them.

"Hey, Natsu! I see you've been a man and finally bought a woman here!" he said jovially and let out a booming laugh. Natsu blushed a bit at his comment and scratched the back of his head. Lucy had come to the conclusion it was a nervous habit. Lucy couldn't help but notice how much Elfman looked like Mira. Natsu caught her eye and seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Elfman is Mira's brother" he smiled and Lucy nodded. "How's business tonight?" he asked Elfman.

"Booming as usual! You should head in before it gets any more crowded!" they both nodded to each other and Elfman moved out of the way of the door to let them inside. He was right. It was absolutely packed. Lucy pulled Happy up off the ground and held him close with one arm. Natsu grabbed her free and so they wouldn't get separated and led her over to the table they were at earlier that day.

"Lulu" Levy shouted when she saw her "You came!" Lucy smiled at the girl who already seemed a little tipsy. She sat back down on Gajeel's lap.

"Of course I did!" Lucy said.

Lucy greeted everyone, the only person that wasn't in the group was Wendy, which was understandable since they were all in their twenties and Wendy was only sixteen.

"You're lookin' good tonight, Lucy!" she heard Gray say, she looked over at him to smile but found herself frowning when she saw he was missing his shirt. Natsu suddenly dropped her hand and stormed over to Gray.

"Fight me, ice bastard!" He shouted. Gray, completely forgetting about Lucy, quickly agreed. Lucy sat down on a free seat and sighed as she watched them fight. She set Happy down on the table in front of her. Soon enough she blocked out the sound of their fight and was chatting away with everyone on the table. Mira turned up with a round of drinks - a strawberry daiquiri on the tray especially for Lucy.

They had about three round of drinks before Natsu and Gray decided to join them again and Levy insisted they all had to have shots. Lucy wasn't sure how Levy could actually drink more than she already had without passing out. The shots came and Cana joined them, cheering them on as they downed them. Natsu and Gray had four each to make up for the drinks they missed while everyone else just had two. Cana cheered away as everyone started getting completely wasted, with the exception of Levy who was already there. After another half an hour of drinking, Levy came up with another one of her 'good ideas' that would probably bite them in the ass in the morning.

"Let's dance!" she shouted, getting up enthusiastically and pulling at Gajeel's arm. He grunted and begrudgingly stood up and followed her to the dance floor. Everyone took their queue and started to make their way over.

"Come on!" Natsu shouted enthusiastically, jumping up from his seat and offering Lucy his hand. She smiled, a little too much, and grab his hand eagerly. He yanked her from her seat and pulled her onto the dancefloor, slightly away from the large group that contained the majority of their friends. He dropped her hand, which made her pout but then grabbed her hips as they started swaying to the music. His touch was electric. Lucy wasn't sure if it was real or just the alcohol. They laughed together and Natsu pulled her closer until they were almost touching. The laughing stopped as soon as they looked in each other's eyes. Natsu swallowed loudly. He seemed to be moving closer.

Suddenly, Natsu was shoved from behind and they smacked their foreheads together. Natsu growled and turned around while Lucy rubbed her head. They both saw who the culprit and he looked pretty smug. "Damn, Hentai Bastard!" Natsu roared. He looked over to Lucy, giving an apologetic look before he removed his hands from his waist to punch Gray in the face. He looked pretty pissed. Lucy looked pretty flushed.

She decided to join the main group, she was given a few raised eyebrows before they all danced crazily together and laughed. They danced until their feet hurt and quickly moved back to the table. Gajeel and Levy had disappeared and Natsu and Gray were having a shouting match after being warned about being kicked out if they continued their physical fight.

"So blondie" Cana said "I saw you dancing with Natsu" she wiggled her eyebrows. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"You keep suggesting things but I'm pretty sure Natsu's not interested" Lucy retorted, almost slapping herself when she realised the suggestiveness of her sentence. Cana must have caught it as well.

"Oooooh! Lucy had a crush!" Cana shouted, loud enough to catch the attention of everyone at the table.

"Shut up, Cana!" I shouted, then quickly added "It's not like I said that anyway!" trying to amend for my mistakes but it didn't look like it was working. Natsu dropped down on the seat next to her, seemingly done with his fight with Gray.

"Who'd you have a crush on?" he said playfully, but his eyes seemed completely serious. Lucy flushed red.

"No-one!" she shouted and turned away from his fierce gaze.

"Come on, Luce" he whined "If we're good enough friends to share a shower you, we're good enough friends for you to tell me that!" All other conversations on the table stopped and everyone looked between Lucy and Natsu. Lucy felt like she could die from the embarrassment. _Why did he have to bring that up?_ she cringed in her mind. She didn't know if it would be better to run or deal with it.

"You what?" Gray shouted what was on everyone's minds. Lucy looked over to Natsu who seemed to not care, thinking that it was totally normal.

"We had a shower together" he repeated, confused as to why it was so important. Cana said 'wooo' in the background while Lucy watched Gray's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you're telling me you" he pointed to Natsu "a stupid lizard"

"Hey!"

"Managed to get with her" he pointed to Lucy, who didn't think she could blush more at that point.

"Huh?" Natsu asked, not understanding the implication. Lucy kept quiet.

"You know, did the dirty?" Natsu clearly still didn't get in. Lucy dropped her head on the table. "The nasty? The deed? Got in her pants? No? Really?"

"What the hell are you talking about, popsicle?" he growled in confusion. Gray then took it upon himself to whisper in Natsu's ear. Natsu froze, became quite white and then punched Gray on the arm.

"Of course not!" he glowered "I told you. We just took a shower together. Why are you guys being all weird about it? Who would want to do that with Lucy anyway? I mean you have a shower to get clean, idiot" his naivety made everyone look a lot more relaxed. But a few raised eyebrows were aimed at Lucy.

"It's not like that!" Lucy shouted but she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to convince anyone. Hopefully they wouldn't remember in the morning.

"I think we need more drinks!" Erza said, breaking the awkward silence. Everyone agreed and Erza left to get another round.

Soon enough they were all merry again, the shower incident completely forgotten. A girl called Juvia ended up joining the table, sitting on Gray's lap. She seemed to have a bit of a problem with Lucy, called her 'love-rival' for some reason. Lucy shrugged it off. Natsu threw his arm over Lucy's shoulder and smiled at her. It was getting pretty late.

"You wanna go home?" he said into her ear. She shivered slightly. She looked over at the table, a lot of people had dispersed or were just in a two-person conversation. She looked at Happy sleeping on the table, as he had since they had left him to dance, and smiled. She turned to Natsu and nodded. He quickly scooped his cat up and they dashed out the door, into the cool night. Happy seemed to have woken up and he jumped out of Natsu's arms to walk alongside them.

Natsu slung his arms lazily over Lucy's shoulders again and pulled her close to his side. He seemed more than a little drunk, but then again, so did Lucy. They walked to her apartment in complete silence, which was new for them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. As soon as Lucy unlocked the door, Natsu made a beeline for her bed and Happy jumped on her couch and quickly fell asleep. She sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to move them.

She followed Natsu into her bedroom where he seemed to be asleep, fully clothed with the exception of his shoes. Lucy laughed. She went to her drawers and pulled out her pyjamas. She double checked that Natsu was asleep before stripping off her dress and her underwear and jumping into her pyjamas. She turned around and saw Natsu was just getting up, yawning. Lucy severely hoped he had not seen her change. She put her clothes in her wash basket in the ensuite. She turned back to the bed and saw Natsu had discarded all of his clothes except his boxers and was climbing under the covers. Lucy felt a bit awkward, and a little bit excited as she climbed into bed on the other side, lying on her side, facing away from him.

She had made sure that they had a good amount of space between them. Natsu grunted and grabbed her waist, pulling her until she was flush against him. He threw an arm over her waist, clinging tightly to her. He nuzzled his nose into her neck and sighed. Lucy's eyes flew open, she squealed a bit and tried to move away but Natsu held on tighter. She huffed and decided she might as well try and get some sleep. She could deal with that in the morning.

Soon enough, she fell asleep, not noticing when Happy entered the room, jumped on the bed and settled on the pillow above them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Over 20 followers, I can't believe it! Thanks for all the support for the story, I will do my best to continue it and to improve my work!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters!**

 **Chapter Six - The Morning After**

Lucy woke up unusually warm. She wasn't quite sure why, but it might have had something to do with her hideous headache. She sighed and tried to get back to sleep, she didn't even bother opening her eyes. It was a sunday so it didn't really matter when she woke up. She felt a shuffling in the bed beside her and instantly stopped doing everything. She held her breath before waking up and seeing a strong arm slung over her waist, pulling her tightly against a well-maintained body.

Lucy instantly remembered everything that had happened the previous night and blushed furiously. She was in bed with Natsu. She had only met him yesterday morning yet she was in bed with him. And he was half naked. And from the feeling of something poking her butt, he was apparently having a very good dream. It took Lucy everything she had not to scream. Instead she tried sensibly to pull away but she heard Natsu growl in his sleep and pull her more against him. This was probably the most awkward moment in Lucy's life. She looked around the room for something that could help her and her eyes landed on Happy, who was curled up above her head. He was watching her with amusement.

"Please, Happy" she begged "You've gotta help!"

She knew very well that the cat had understood her but instead of helping her out he just scampered out of her reach and watched her with amusement from the bedside table.

"Dumb cat!" she growled but Happy just seemed to laugh with his eyes.

Lucy decided she would have to do something. Because she really didn't want to walk around for the rest of the day with Natsu clinging to her. All that muscle made him _very_ heavy. The eating probably didn't help as well.

"Natsu!" She shouted and smacked him on his head which was still buried in her hair. He groaned and didn't move. "Natsu!" She shouted again, slightly louder, and hit him on the arm that was constricting her. He groaned yet again but seemed to be waking up.

"Eugh" he complained "Why'd ya wake me up, Luce? I was comfortable" Lucy gritted her teeth.

"Well maybe I wasn't comfortable with you _crushing_ me!" she said with a raised voice. He sighed and removed his arm from her waist, rolling on his back and blushing slightly when he saw the sheets raised where his crotch was. He swore quietly and ran out to the bathroom.

"I'm going to have a shower" Natsu stated "Umm" he added "Maybe just alone today" with that, he slammed the door leaving Lucy completely embarrassed and Happy with an amused look on his face.

"No comments, stupid cat!" Lucy warned but somehow it felt worse when Happy jumped off the bedside table and slinked out of the room without making a single noise. Lucy decided to get up to try and get her mind off everything that happened last night and earlier in the morning. She slipped into some clothes, deciding not to wait to have a shower and walked into the lounge and the adjoining kitchen to see if there was anything left in her fridge and cupboards that could make something that could be labelled as breakfast.

By the time Natsu had gotten out of the shower and joined her, sitting on the sofa in the lounge next to a sleeping Happy, Lucy had already started making omelets. She was, in fact making her last one. She had stacked three on a plate for Natsu and placed the last one on a plate for her. She grabbed a bowl and poured in a can of tinned tuna for Happy and placed the food in front of the boys. Natsu shuffled up the sofa to make room for Lucy and they all sat down and ate together in reasonable silence. As silent as it could get with the sounds of Natsu and Happy scoffing food. Once they had all finished, Natsu sat back on the sofa with his hand on his belly and burped. His appalling manners didn't really surprise Lucy. In fact, they were a rather refreshing break from the good manners at her father's mansion. It was nice to be free. She laid back on the sofa next to Natsu and smiled to herself. He looked at her strangely.

"You're a real weirdo, Luce!" he proclaimed, looking at her intently. She sighed, ignoring the comment and closed her eyes, trying to relax. Happy yowled, Natsu snickered and she realised she was going to have no peace when they were there.

"When are you going to leave?" She asked, irked by their annoying presence in the sanctuary that was her home. Natsu frowned at her.

"You want us to leave? You're mean, Lucy!" he said, looking upset, trying to win her over.

"Not this time" she snapped "You're not going to win me over with that innocent act. Why can't I have any privacy? This is my home!"

"But we're a team!" he pleaded "We should do everything together" he assured her.

"Since when were we a team? And how does that mean you can come to my house whenever you like?"

"You seemed to want me here last night" he retorted, which just pissed Lucy off more. She wasn't sure if she was red because she was blushing or because she was angry.

"Just because I didn't kick you out doesn't mean I want you here" she growled.

"You wanted me here when we had a shower together" he said smugly.

"Stop bringing that up!" she shouted, desperately.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Because grown men and women shouldn't have showers together unless…" she stopped talking, not wanting to have _that_ talk with Natsu.

"Unless what? We're best friends, so why does it matter?" he definitely did not get what she was implying.

"Nevermind" she said meekly. She sighed and closed her eyes again, trying to calm down the redness on her face. Natsu didn't ask anymore questions but he didn't seem happy that she didn't answer his. It took Lucy a few minutes to realise that Natsu had managed to make her forget all about kicking him out.

"Wait" she said, opening her eyes "Why are you still here?" she asked them. Natsu gave an innocent smiled.

"But why do we have to go?" he whined.

"Because if I spent all my time with you then I'd never appreciate the time we spend together. Spending time alone means it's better when we're together" she said coyly. He smiled at that idea.

"It's always more fun when we're together" he agreed, despite the fact that they had only known eachother for less than two days. "Okay," he sighed "We'll go but we'll come back soon!" he promised. With that the pink-haired pyromaniac and his little blue cat, both of which she had grown quite attached to, walked out the door leaving her feeling a little more empty than she wanted to admit.

She really hoped they would come back.

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! I was going to post this chapter sooner but fanfiction wasn't letting me for some reason. Thanks so much for all the reviews, favourites and follows! I will do my best to improve my work! I have already started on the next chapter so that should be out either this week or the beginning of next week :) hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven - Her First Job**

It had been three days since Lucy had seen Natsu and Happy. While she was relieved because of getting away from their annoying habits, she couldn't shake the feeling she felt a little lonely. She decided not to go to Fairy Tail to look for them because she didn't want to look desperate.

She had other things to do as well. Or at least she tried to convince herself she did. She spent most of her days searching around town for a job but hadn't been able to find anything. She had secretly wondered if she could get a job at Fairy Tail so she could get to know all the new friends she made better. She shook her head. Like they would want someone like her anyway.

It was Thursday evening and Lucy was sitting on her couch moaping. Maybe she should have never left home in the first place. She was running out of money quickly and she didn't even have an income. If she wasn't careful she would be kicked out of her home and have no choice but to return to her father. She pulled her knees up against her chest and laid her cheek on her knees, frowning at the prospect of being back under her father's thumb. She really didn't want to marry a man her father had picked to help his company prosper.

"Why so gloomy, Luce?" Lucy screamed and the voice and kicked in its direction. She managed a full 'Lucy Kick' to the stomach before she realised it was Natsu. She felt bad, but that was what he got for sneaking up on her. She crossed her arms and slumped back down on the couch again.

"What was that for?" he whined, picking himself up and rubbing his stomach.

"That's what you get for breaking into my house and sneaking up on me!" she snapped and gazed at him sharply. He had a sad expression on his face. He held Happy on one arm and hand a handful of cookies in the other.

"Hey!" Lucy began "Is that my food?!" she growled. Natsu looked away in an obvious confession of guilt.

"No…" he mumbled, an obvious lie.

"Quit stealing my food, idiot!" she shouted "How did you get in here anyway?"

"Window" he said, spluttering cookie crumbs everywhere. He had obviously shoved the handful of cookies he had in his mouth while she was speaking.

"Can't you use a door like a normal person?" she sighed, somehow, Lucy had a feeling it was going to be a frequent occurrence.

"Where's the fun in that?" he shrugged, putting Happy down to let him wander the apartment freely.

"That stupid cat best not scratch my wall" she growled.

"Someone's not in a good mood today…" Natsu muttered, irking Lucy even more.

"What did you say?" she snapped, the look on Natsu's face was one of utter terror. Lucy sighed again and calmed down a little. It wasn't Natsu's fault that she was in a bad mood. It was her asshole of a father. She frowned a little and Natsu seemed to relax but look unhappy.

"Wow, Luce! You can be as scary as Erza sometimes!" he commented, more to himself than anyone else.

"Sorry" Lucy replied without much enthusiasm.

"What's wrong? You don't look like the happy Lucy I know" he crossed his arms, his eyes were filled with concern.

"Just thinking about my family" she admitted "My mom died when I was pretty young and Dad has been a real nightmare ever since...the reason I'm here is because I ran away from him...I couldn't face being stuck up in that mansion for the rest of my life and married off to some rich bozo twice my age...I don't even know why I'm telling you this" she frowned "We only met the other day and yet I'm telling you things I've never told anyone before…"

Natsu scratched his head, as if trying to think of a way to convince her he felt the same.

"When I was young I was abandoned by my adopted father, Igneel...don't think that he's a bad guy! He was great he just probably had something he had to do...anyway, I never knew my real parents or where I came from and after Igneel left I ended up here and Fairy Tail took me in, well you know about the youth club...I actually moved in with Mira and Elfman, they have a sister too, her name is Lisanna" he smiled, but Lucy's heart dropped.

So Lisanna was real. She wasn't sure why that made her so sad but it did.

"They are a really nice family and stuff" Natsu continued "But I moved out as soon as I could! I mean Mira is a demon when she's angry, Elfman's always talking about being a man and Lisanna kept on goin' on about us bein' married and it was really annoying" he made a sour face which relaxed Lucy somewhat "So now I live at my apartment, I still look for Igneel but I don't always have time with the jobs I do for the gui- I mean bar. I guess what I'm trying to say is I trust you. You trust me too" he smiled "It might be weird cause we've only known eachother for a few days but it don't mean it's wrong!" Lucy chuckled a little and smiled back.

"You're right! Sorry for all the life story stuff" he waved his hand to signal her that he didn't care.

"That's what best friends do, right?" he smiled, unsure of himself.

"Yeah, I guess" she smiled back. She answered on automatic mode as her mind was too busy wondering if it was okay to ask about Lisanna.

"So" he said as he sat down on the sofa next to her "What are we doing today?" he asked.

"I don't know about you" Lucy spoke as she looked over at him "But I need to find a job before I have to go back to my father and marry some ugly forty year old" she sighed but he only seemed to smile.

"You shoulda said" he grinned and stood up.

"I did" she said and he pulled her hand, dragging her towards the door. She was just able to grab her purse and keys before they were outside, the door slamming behind them.

Lucy blushed a little and grabbed her hand back as she realised her fingers were still intertwined with his. He gave her a confused look and grabbed her hand back. She sighed and realised that wherever he was dragging them, he didn't think she would go on her own.

They had walked the whole way in complete silence. Natsu looked determined to help her, so Lucy just let him drag her to wherever they were going without protest.

When they stopped, Lucy found herself, yet again, standing outside the Fairy Tail building. She almost laughed.

Natsu looked over at her and gave her a huge grin. She started to laugh. He didn't understand why but didn't say anything.

Once Lucy got all of the laughter out of her system Natsu dragged her inside and towards the bar that Mirajane was behind.

Mira looked up at them, eyeing their linked hands and smiled. Lucy immediately blushed again and made sure to take her hand back when they stopped.

"What can I do for you two today?" she asked and wiggled her eyebrows, then added "I haven't seen you in a while, Lucy"

"It's only been like three days" Lucy groaned.

"Luce, here, needs a job" Natsu said proudly and smiled at Lucy.

"Ahhh" Mira said "Well it just so happens we could use another barmaid" Mira smiled.

"Really?!" Lucy jumped.

"Yep and seeing as Natsu thinks so highly of you, you can have it" Mira giggled with an implication that Lucy didn't like but she ignored it.

"Thank you, Mira! You're the best!" she hugged the barmaid over the bar and then heard Natsu cough.

"You're the best too, dummy!" she said, turning round to him and rolling her eyes. She hugged him too but didn't linger too long unless Mira got the wrong idea.

She heard a 'meow' and looked down to see Happy looking up expectantly at her.

"I'm not hugging a cat" she said to him and he hissed in reply. Lucy laughed and squatted down to get closer to him. Although he looked annoyed, the cat was all to happy to let her scratch behind his ears apologetically. He purred softly and soon enough jumped into her arms so she could stand back up to talk to the others.

"I swear he loves you more than me sometimes" Natsu muttered watching the cat rub its head against Lucy's chest. Lucy just giggled.

"So when do I start?" She asked Mira, who also seemed to be eyeing the affectionate cat.

"We could use some help tonight if you're up for it" Mira smiled, looking up at Lucy.

"That sounds perfect! Thank you again!" Lucy cheered, Mira just laughed and went back to her job, stopping before she left to give Lucy a time to be there.

Lucy turned to Natsu once Mira was gone and gave him her best smile.

She placed Happy on the floor, much to his dismay, before jumping on Natsu to give him another big hug. He seemed surprised but returned it happily.

"Hey, Luce?" He asked as she pulled away, she nodded "Now that you've stopped complaining about your rent can we do something fun now?"

"I wasn't complaining" she snapped "But sure, what do you have in mind?" He said nothing but gave her his infamous grin and pulled her out of the bar in record time.

* * *

Natsu's idea of a good time did not seem to be the same as Lucy's. He had dragged her to an all-you-can-eat buffet, stuffed his face with everything he could find, spat food all over her face as he talked and then made her pay for the whole thing. On top of that, he was currently in the middle of a fight with a man who he claimed had 'looked at them funny'. Lucy was less than impressed. But somehow, she has still managed to enjoy his company.

She looked down at the blue cat beside her who was also watching the fight.

"I get the feeling he does this a lot" she sighed, Happy looked over at her and meowed in agreement. She crossed her arms and glanced over at the fight. Natsu seemed to be easily dominating the man but he wasn't without a few bruises.

"This is kind of stupid" Lucy mumbled, not expecting it when Happy yowled in response. A response which Lucy was pretty sure to be a rude comment.

"What did you say?" She snapped and the cat and kneeled down to its height. Happy meowed, seemingly amused. He sauntered over to her and pushed a paw into her stomach, meowing again with an evil glint in his eye. Lucy gritted her teeth.

"Did you just call me fat?" She growled and Happy meowed, seeming to tell her 'yes'. Lucy stood up and loomed over him, trying to look intimidating.

"You're lucky I haven't kicked you, stupid cat" she snapped at him, not noticing that Natsu had rejoined them after leaving his fighting partner on the floor.

"Why are you bullying Happy?" Natsu whined. Lucy turned around to see his serious face, arms crossed. She winced a little when she saw a large purple bruise forming on his left cheek.

"I'm not bullying him!" she said innocently "He called me fat!" she whined.

"Lucy" Natsu said, with a completely serious face "He's a cat"

That once sentence got her closer to murder than she had ever been in her life. It took her all that she had not to give him another bruise to add to his collection.

"You talk to him all the time" she said as calmly as she could.

"Yeah, but he's a cat, you can't get annoyed with him" he laughed.

"He's a stupid and rude cat that called me fat!" she shouted. Natsu frowned and looked over her.

"Well…" he started.

"Don't" Lucy warned.

"It could be because of your massive ti-"

"Natsu!" She roared and he stopped when he saw the scary look she had on her face. Even Happy seemed intimidated when he dashed behind Natsu's legs for protection. Lucy sighed.

"Come on" She said, giving them a small smile to relax them a little "Let's clean you up before I have to go to work" Natsu nodded, obviously not trusting his words not to piss her off again.

They walked to Lucy's apartment in silence. When they got inside, Lucy sat Natsu down on the sofa and pulled a first aid kit out placing it on the coffee table with some hot water and a wash cloth.

She frowned at the state he was in. He had bruises all over his body and small cuts too. He had obviously fallen on the ground at one point as his shirt was a little ripped and bloody.

"Take your shirt off" she sighed and he did as he was told. She sat down on the sofa next to him and inspected the damage. His back seemed to have the majority of the cuts so she quickly turned him around and got to work cleaning them out with the hot water and wash cloth.

He breathed in sharply every time she cleaned a cut but said nothing. Once she was done she covered each of the cuts in a plaster and turned him back to face her. She quickly cleaned the one small gash he had on his front and gave it the same treatment she had with the back.

Once the final cut was cleaned and covered, she leaned back and smiled, pleased with her work. Natsu seemed to be watching her intently not saying a single word. She frowned again when she saw the bruise on his cheek and instinctively reached out and brushed her thumb over it lightly.

His breathing hitched a little and she pulled her hand away, afraid that she had hurt him. She gave him an apologetic look and handed him his t-shirt back. He quickly slipped in on while she put back everything she had taken out to tend to him with.

"Thanks, Lucy" he said as she came back to the sofa and collapsed down on it.

"No problem, Natsu" she smiled at him.

"Sorry for calling you fat" he said, scratching the back of his head. She heard a soft meow from Happy who seemed to be apologising too.

"It's okay" she said. Happy meowed again.

"You're not allowed to say sorry and then call me fat again you dumb cat!" she growled and he quickly retreated to her bedroom.

Lucy checked the time and panicked slightly.

"Ahh! I have work in an hour and I haven't even had a shower!" she shouted, more to herself than anyone else.

She dashed to her room to have the quickest shower of her life, changing into some smart-casual clothes, which consisted of a pink mini-skirt and a lacy white camisole, and dashed back out to the lounge to find Natsu still sitting on the sofa patiently.

"Why are you still here?" she asked.

"It's your first day!" he smiled "I gotta walk you in to show my support!" he said and gave her a goofy smile and thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and then continued to get ready, pulling on her white over-the-knee socks and her favourite brown, knee high boots. She grabbed her purse and her keys and indicated to Natsu she was ready to go.

"Let's go, little buddy!" he shouted over to Happy who came bounding into the lounge in response.

With one last look over her apartment, they left, once again, for Fairy Tail.

 **A/N Hope this chapter wasn't too bad! It took me a while to write because I have been a little busy this week but I'm glad I managed to get it out on Sunday! I'm nearly up to 30 followers! Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/favourited/reviewed this story! The next chapter hasn't been started yet but I'm aiming to get it done for Wednesday/Thursday. I have posted three chapters this week and a one-shot so sorry if it takes me a little longer next week!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Over 30 followers! Thank you so much! XD Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Eight - Team Natsu**

Her first night at Fairy Tail had gone reasonably well. She had managed to fill all her orders in a reasonable time and had got lots of compliments from the customers. On top of that, she got to see all of the friends she had made the other day again and had some great conversations.

In fact, the night would have been perfect if it wasn't for a certain pink-haired idiot and his stupid cat. They harassed her the _whole night._ Lucy had enjoyed their company at first. But when they wouldn't leave her alone, even if she was busy with a customer, it took all of her strength not to ask Mira to kick them out.

Happy, at some point in the night, had managed to get behind the bar and was constantly clawing at her legs as a sign that he wanted to be picked up. Natsu was permanently glue to the counter, watching her every move and talking non stop. He only stopped when he decided he need to pick a fight with Gray. Even after that he was back in an instant.

As much as Lucy knew he was trying to support her, she spent the majority of the night gritting her teeth, trying not to snap at him.

After a couple of hours of Happy clawing at her legs, she sighed, giving up and picking him up. He scrambled from her arms, crawling up her chest and slung himself over both her shoulders. She swore it could not be comfortable but shrugged pleased that he at least had stopped attacking her legs. That dealt with one of them.

She had a feeling that Natsu was going to be a little more tricky.

"Hey, Natsu, I'll let you sleepover if you just leave me to do my work now" she pleaded, sounding a little more desperate than she wanted. He thought about it for a minute before she answered.

"On the bed?" he asked.

"On the couch." she said, started to growl in frustration. He crossed his arms.

"On the bed." he said firmly.

"Couch. I need my bed."

"Bed. You can sleep on it too" somehow she decided that letting Natsu crash on her bed, even if she had to sleep on the couch, was better than having him harass her for another three hours.

"Fine" she groaned. With that he grinned, hopped off the bar stool and ran over to his friends, not before she could hear his loud "Yosh!" she rolled her eyes and got back to work.

"Oooo, sexy!" Cana said as she slid onto the bar stool that Natsu was previously in.

"I'm so _not_ in the mood, Cana" she sighed.

"Didn't sound like it" she said and wiggled her eyebrows causing Lucy to frown.

"You know it's not like that" she groaned but Cana was already getting up to leave.

"Whatever you say, Lucy" she said, leaving with a wink. Lucy banged her head on the counter before she got back to work.

* * *

The rest of the night passed with relative ease. Natsu had kept his word and left her to do her job and Cana hadn't said anything to her again bar the casual drink orders and frustrating smug looks.

By the time her shift had ended she was exhausted. Natsu collected her and his cat - still strewn across Lucy's shoulders - from Mirajane and looked way more enthusiastic than she did. He had dragged her to her house at an unusually quickened pace.

As soon as Lucy had opened to door he had started to shed his clothes, running to her room and diving into her bed. Lucy could hear a contented sigh when he got comfortable. She wanted to get mad but she just didn't have the energy.

Instead, she went into her room, grabbed her pyjamas and left Natsu, and her loving bed, for the lounge. She had closed the bedroom door behind her and had double checked before she changed into her pyjamas and snuggled on the sofa, pulling the blanket she kept over the back of the sofa over self.

Happy jumped onto the sofa with her and curled up on her stomach. She sighed, patted him for a minute, and then closed her eyes. She was just about to fall asleep when Natsu started complaining.

"Luuuuuucyyy" she heard him moan from the other room. Lucy gritted her teeth, refusing to reply and trying to force herself to sleep despite the annoying idiot she had, for some reason, let inside her house.

"Luuuuuceeee" he moaned again which she once again ignored.

He hadn't spoken in a few minutes and Lucy finally felt like she could get to sleep. Then she heard footsteps and the bedroom door.

"Lucyyy" he said as he walked towards her. She couldn't ignore him anymore.

"What?" she snapped "I just want to sleep, Natsu. Go back to bed" she didn't open her eyes, hoping he would just leave her to rest.

"I can't sleep" he said, his voice lower and more serious. Lucy opened her eyes to see him in front of her, scratching the back of his head. She rolled her eyes.

"Do you want Happy? Sorry, he just crawled on here with me" he said, feeling mildly sympathetic but still annoyed.

"Umm" he started, staring at the floor "I was actually wondering if you…" he trailed off and dashed back to the bedroom. "Nevermind, just go to sleep!" he shouted from the other room causing Lucy to huff over all of the fuss. She just didn't understand him sometimes.

After a few minutes of checking he wasn't going to bother her again, Lucy fell into a deep sleep along with the blue cat lying on her stomach.

* * *

When Lucy woke up, Happy and Natsu were gone. She wasn't sure if she felt relieved or disappointed. She couldn't help but feel a little more of the later when she realised they didn't even say goodbye. The only trace left of them were a few blue hairs on her blanket.

She decide to go to Fairy Tail to see Mira about what was happening with the job. It's not like she wanted to see her idiot friend and his evil cat or anything like that.

When she arrived at Fairy Tail it was fairly empty, Mira was at the counter talking to her brother, Elfman and the back table usually occupied by her friends was empty. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Hey, Mira" she said cheerily and she skipped up to the bar. Mira and her brother both turned around to greet her.

"Good morning, Lucy" Mira said sweetly as her brother gave a 'manly' nod. Mira looked at her curiously before she added "No Natsu today, huh?"

"Nope" Lucy sighed "He left this morning before I even woke up" Mira eyed her curiously and nodded. That woman had endless curiosity, Lucy could of sworn.

"Well, that's probably because of his job today" Mira smiled.

"He has a job?" Lucy laughed, not really seeing a job that would suit him.

"Yeah" Mira said "Most people here just do odd jobs for the bar and other people associated with it" Mira explained "We actually got so popular we get jobs from outside too! People like Natsu tend to work on their own but other people have teams, like Levy who's teamed up with Jet and Droy! It's funny how a few little favours turned into a legitimate business plan!" Mira laughed "We even joke about how we're a guild with a bar attached rather than a bar that does odd jobs on the side!" Mira sighed.

"So, Natsu is out on a job for the bar?" Lucy asked.

"Yep!" Lucy heard a voice answer before Mira could open her mouth. Lucy spun around as Mira laughed. She saw Natsu with his arms across. "I see you're spilling all out secrets, Mira" he said.

"I'm surprised you haven't already" Mira said to him with a wink. "Lucy is part of the family now, she can know what she likes" she stated to which Natsu seemed to nod in compliance.

"I guess you're right" he smiled then looked at Lucy "Maybe you could team up with me, if you're interested than doing more than bar work" Lucy smiled back at him and tentatively nodded.

"Maybe" she answered. They both stared intensely at each other for a while. The air was humming with unanswered questions. Lucy wasn't sure she was ready to ask them.

"Anyway," Mira coughed and Lucy turned back to look at her "What can I do for you today? By the way, you were very good last night" Mira smiled.

"Thanks, Mira. I was just coming over to see when you'd want me to work again" she returned Mira's smile.

"Well you're in luck! I a schedule!" she pulled out a sheet and handed it over to Lucy "I hope Wednesday, Fridays and Weekends are good for you!" Lucy almost squealed.

"This is perfect, Mira!" she hugged the sheet to her chest "I'll see you tonight!" she chimed as she skipped out of the bar to make the most of her morning. She left Natsu behind without much thought. Pink-haired pyro or no, she was determined to have a good day.

"Wait!" Lucy heard Natsu call, just as she got to the end of the road. She stopped and he dashed to catch up to her. She turned around and smiled at him.

"What's up?" she asked, still hugging her timesheet to her chest. She noticed he was, once again, scratching the back of his head nervously from her question.

"Well, I know this might sound a bit weird, but I was hoping you would make a team with me and Haps...I mean it's not like you have to or anything but I was thinking that we could maybe, I dunno, like try and figure out this thing that's happening between us while we do some jobs, you know?" Lucy blushed furiously.

"What do you mean?" she said a little too frantically "What's happening between us?" she panicked. He frowned.

"You know, the weird thing that we feel like we know each other and stuff…" he mumbled, clearly still a little nervous.

"Oh!" Lucy sighed in relief "Yeah, I mean, I'd like to find out what's happening" she smiled.

"Great!" he gave her a massive grin "I have to go and leave for my job but we can plan everything when I'm back!" he started to dash off back in the direction of the guild before he stopped and turned around "Don't go joining any other team while I'm away!" he shouted "You're on Team Natsu now!" he heart skipped a little and she watched him run all the way back to the guild.

"Team Natsu, huh?" she said to herself and continued her walk home.

 **A/N Yay! I actually got my update out on time! I've actually been working on another fic as well which should be released sometime this afternoon so I'm pretty impressed that I posted this on time! Thanks again to all the people who favourited/followed/reviewed its really nice to know my work is being enjoyed! Sorry about the filler-ness of the recent additions, I promise it shall start getting more into the story really soon! (as in next chapter or the chapter after)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Thanks for all the lovely reviews! They have really made my week :) Special thanks to OgaxHilda! It's really great to know that someone likes my work ^_^ Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

 **Chapter Nine - Assumptions**

A week had gone by and Natsu was still on his mission. Lucy was feeling a little bit lonely without him, but she tried her best to fill that void with her other friends at Fairy Tail. Within that week, Lucy had become really close friends with Levy.

Levy had found out about her passion for both reading and writing and had lent her a tonne of books with a promise to read her own someday. They had spent most nights since Natsu left together, gossiping and sharing secrets they hadn't told anyone before.

Lucy had just finished her last shift for the week and was going back to Levy's for yet another sleepover.

"LuLu!" Levy greeted her at the door.

"Hey, Levy!" Lucy smiled and walked inside so they could start another sleepover.

Soon enough they had set up their sleeping bags in the lounge of her small, neutral coloured flat and had started to talk about boys.

"So how long have you and Gajeel been dating?" Lucy asked curiously, making Levy blush a little.

"Only a few months but honestly I think I've been in love with him for at least a year!" Levy gushed and Lucy squealed in delight.

"You two are so cute! I wish I had someone like that…" Lucy sighed at her lack of a love life.

"What about Natsu?" Levy said and waggled her eyebrows.

"Eww!" Lucy denied "He's my best friend!" she complained which didn't seem to deter Levy.

"That's not a bad thing, Lu" she pointed out and Lucy shook her head "Plus" Levy said with a mischievous look in her eye "Didn't you shower together?"

"Levy! I though we all agreed not to talk about that!" Lucy shouted, shaking her head trying to remove the image of Natsu's glistening body in her shower.

"You totally thought about him naked just then!" Levy accused, somehow psychically

"NO!" Lucy denied.

"So how much did you see?"

"No."

"So you didn't get to see the goods?"

"...no"

"Too bad" Levy teased. Lucy sighed and laid back into her sleeping bag.

"Even if I did like him - which I clearly don't, I mean I've only known him for a few weeks - he definitely would not feel the same way" Lucy assured her friends "I mean we had a shower together and he clearly was not interested…" Levy giggled and laid back in her sleeping bag as Lucy had.

"He maybe a little naive…" Levy said and Lucy rolled her eyed "Okay! A lot naive...but he knows his own heart. You have to trust me on that one. He's a fiercely loyal friend and he always looks out for those in need. He's a good guy, Lu" she smiled and looked at her friend.

"I know" was all that Lucy was willing to offer.

They spend the rest of the night discussing their favourite books, ignoring their earlier conversation about boys, and relaxing until they were ready to go to bed.

* * *

Lucy groaned when she woke up, realising it was a monday. She quickly got her stuff together and left Levy's with a curt 'goodbye'.

She had two days off and no idea what to do with them. Levy was working during the day and Natsu was gone. Lucy didn't want to go back to Fairy Tail on her day off so she went home and debated whether to write some of her novel.

When she got home she decided that she would rather read someone else's work than write her own. She had been suffering from bar writer's block for the past week and had no idea how to fix it.

She brushed her fingers over the books on her bookshelf and they stopped when they touched a familiar spine. _Dragon's Den_. Lucy laughed. That book had changed her life so much. She quickly snatched the book up off the shelf and looked at the man on the cover.

He didn't look much like the real-life version. He was just as impressive muscle-wise, which could be seen through the gold-trimmed, black vest he was wearing, but his smile wasn't as heart-warmingly goofy. He didn't have the right shade of pink for his hair, he was a bit shorter and worst of all, those shining, adventurous eyes she loved so much where not on the man she was looking at.

She sighed, not taking her eyes off the cover as she pictured it with her Natsu on it. She had a feeling it would look a lot better.

"What's that?" a familiar voice breathed over her shoulder.

"Kyaaa!" Lucy screamed, turning around and throwing the book at her home intruder. She looked at Natsu on the floor with a book on his face. Of course it was Natsu. Why would it be a burglar when it could be Natsu.

When Natsu got up, clutching the book in one hand, looking ready to ask her why she had done it, all her anger immediately dissipated. Before he could do anything, she had jumped on his chest giving him a tight hug.

He sighed and hugged her back, forgiving everything she had just done as soon as he felt her face against his chest.

"Did ya miss me, Luce?" He asked and smiled to himself, still holding her tight.

"Shut up" she mumbled into his chest, making him frown slightly "Of course I did, idiot" his face lit up again.

He looked at the book he was holding in his hands that were placed firmly around her back. He turned it over to look at the cover and chuckled again. He saw a man almost like himself on the cover.

Lucy pulled away from him, sighing softly as she did so. She tried to ignore the feeling that she should just hug him again. He was nice and warm and he felt like home.

When she saw he was observing the book she blushed.

"You miss me that much?" he smirked and her face got even hotter.

"N-no!" she sputtered "I just saw it on my bookshelf and decided to look at the cover art!" he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"The cover art that looks exactly like me!" he said cheerfully with a playful look in his eye.

"NO!" Lucy said, finding herself denying everything in a similar fashion to her conversation with Levy. Her conversation with Levy on her mind, her face quickly inflamed again.

"On a book that's main character is based on me…" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively which annoyed her.

"It's not like I was actually reading it!" she cried "Anyway" she mumbled "That guy looks nothing like you…" Natsu's ears perked up at that.

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning at the cover.

"You look much better!" Lucy shouted before she lost her nerve and then dropped her head down. When she decided to look back up she saw Natsu's eyes were wide, his mouth agape and he was taking his turn to flush furiously.

"For a book that's based on you, it's not very like you...I like you better than that character" Lucy mumbled. Natsu closed his mouth and scratched the back of his head. "I mean, you have a better personality" Lucy smiled "and it's not like you have a girlfriend…" Lucy grumbled quietly to herself.

"WHAT?!" he shouted. Lucy widened her eyes when she realised he must have heard. "WHY DO YOU CARE IF I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?!" he shouted nervously at her.

"Why are you shouting?" Lucy asked

"SORRY!" he shouted.

"I didn't mean to offend you" Lucy apologised "I just assumed, sorry…" she said quietly.

"IT'S OKAY! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU WERE WRONG. I JUST THOUGHT…" he trailed off, still unaware that he was shouting.

"You're still shouting!" Lucy grumbled.

"Sorry" he said softly.

Lucy replayed what he had said in her head. So he was single, which made Lucy happy despite her denying it, even to herself. She thought about everything else and something caught in her mind.

"WAIT! WHAT DID YOU THINK?" Lucy shouted to him in a panic. He was quiet which did not make her feel good.

"Well, you were sayin' all that nice stuff and then you were askin' if I had a girlfriend…" he mumbled.

"I DIDN'T ASK IF YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND, IDIOT!" she shouted "Stop assuming things…" she crossed her arms and tried her best not to look completely frazzled, failing miserably.

"Sorry, Lucy" he said with a downtrodden look. He looked down and shuffled his feet. It was clear that they were both subject to the awkward atmosphere in the room.

"Anyway" Lucy said, trying to sound normal. Her voice only hitched a little. Natsu looked up at the sound of her voice but seemed reluctant to meet her eyes. "Why are you here in the first place?" with that he perked up, grinning widely, the sparkle back in his eye.

"Oh right! I almost forgot!" He went over to her bookshelf, shoved the book he was holding on a shelf and riffled through his pockets. He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it over to her. She looked down at it, confused.

"What is it?" she asked before reading the text properly.

"It's our first job as Team Natsu!" he said in delight. Lucy looked back at the paper and started to read it:

 **Help wanted!  
Looking for a maid and a butler at the Everloo Mansion.**

 **Reward: 200,000J**

It looked pretty simple. Lucy smiled.

"But what about my job at the bar? I don't want to get fired!" She said and he smiled.

"Don't worry so much, you weirdo! I got it covered! I already talked to Mira and she's fine with it! You're still doin' a job for Fairy Tail, so it don't matter if it's in the bar or outside!" he smiled with childish glee.

"Alright!" Lucy shouted and smiled back at him. He slung an arm over her shoulder and looked down at the piece of paper with her, pleased that he was able to convince her.

"When do we leave?" Lucy asked, looking up at him.

"Tomorrow!" he cheered. They laughed together, suddenly looking forward to the next day.

 **A/N Finally some action is coming! :) I wanted to do a twist on their first real job together so it doesn't include illegal activities such as stealing! Sorry for bugging again :P Just thought I'd mention (like I have on my other story) that I am going to be really busy this week and next week. I'll do my best to get the chapters out on time but if not you know why.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hey guys! I actually managed to get this out! I have had a _really_ busy week going back to uni, ect. and having a very stressful night last night. Hope you enjoy! Sorry its a little short, I promise I will try and make the next one a bit longer when I have more time. ALSO Chapter 453. OMG. The best chapter...also the subtle GaLe belt hint...Mashima is such a troll ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten - Our First Job**

The train ride to get to the mansion was quite uneventful. Natsu had been sick with his motion sickness and Happy and Lucy talked and bickered for the majority of the journey. Despite having a semi pleasant trip, they were all glad to be back on solid ground again.

"Oh, sweet freedom!" Natsu cried, kissing the ground like it was going to collapse beneath them. Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'm never getting on a train again!" he shouted as he hopped up and joined Lucy's side.

Lucy was looking at a map of the town on the board at the train station for directions to the mansion. She had found where it was they were going and quickly started to leave without a word to Natsu or his cat.

"Luuuucy!" Natsu called, as he ran after her.

"What?" she asked, not bothering to stop since she knew he was faster than her.

"Where are we going?" Natsu asked.

"We're going to our job. You know, _what we came here for_!"

"Why can't we eat first?" he whined.

"Because we're already late because we missed the first train because you _had_ to have breakfast!"

"But Luuuucy!" He complained, trailing behind her with his hands dragging close to the floor, a pitiful look on his face.

"What?" she snapped, a dark look taking over her features.

He winced and ultimately shut up for the rest of the journey to the mansion.

They waited outside the mansion to be shown in and soon enough there was a maid at the door to greet them.

"Hello! Are you the employees from Fairy Tail?" she asked, grinning to show a set of crooked teeth. She was not, by Lucy's standards, beautiful, but she seemed friendly enough.

"Yup! That's us!" Natsu grinned enthusiastically and took off his coat, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a red Fairy Tail symbol that Lucy had never noticed before. It actually made him look even more intimidating. And a little more attractive. Not that Lucy would ever tell him.

The maid looked expectantly at Lucy, who felt completely left out. She had no proof, no form of identification with the Fairy Tail family. She, in fact, felt a little sad and left out, like she wasn't involved with this side of Natsu's life. A frown was forming on her face, Natsu seemingly noticing, only to frown back.

"She don't need any ID! I'm takin' her out for practice, if you trust Fairy Tail, that means you trust me and I trust her with my life. If that aint good enough for you, then this job aint worth takin'!" Natsu crossed his arms, looking a little menacing apart from the slight blush on his cheeks.

Lucy felt as if she was about to burst from the amount of happiness she was feeling. She finally felt at home in that moment. She had found someone who treasured friendship and family just as much as she did and it made her heart swell. She couldn't help but break out into a huge grin.

"Lucy? What's with the creepy grin you weirdo?" Natsu loudly whispered, not even looking her way.

"Don't call me weird! And how do you know? You're not looking at me!" she loudly whispered back, not caring that she was being not so inconspicuous in front of their potential employer. He shrugged.

"Happy said you had a creepy grin"

"That stupid cat" she grumbled.

"I'm sorry if we offended you, Sir!" the maid said, ignoring their minor bickering. "We trust you're judgement, please, follow me! We will get you sorted in your jobs right away!"

Natsu gave a large grin before motioning to the maid to show them the way.

* * *

Lucy's day was long and tiring. The maid had shown them to their rooms, Lucy had one across the hall from Natsu and Happy, insisted Happy would have to stay out of site, and then put them to work. The work was easy but there was a lot of it. Plus she had to wear a maid outfit that was a little too revealing for her taste.

Lucy had got back to her room and collapsed on her bed immediately. She had planned on seeing how Natsu had gotten on but she was way too tired. She could already tell it was going to be a very long week.

She quickly changed out of her maid outfit into her pyjamas - a pink shirt and trousers - deciding she would rather have a shower in the morning and get straight to bed.

She dove under the covers after she brushed her teeth and turned out the light. Sighing with the relief of being able to lie down after such a hard day's work, she quickly closed her eyes and willed her dreams to come.

* * *

 _Lucy had woken up in a good mood. The sun was shining and today she would ask Natsu and Happy if they wanted to take a job - surprisingly not for rent money this time. She was actually ahead on her rent and she wanted to save up to surprise the boys with a holiday._

 _Lucy rushed through her morning routine so she could be at the guild at a good time. She smiled as she pulled her top over her head, admiring her pink guild mark as the fabric slid over it._

 _Once she was finished getting dressed, she grabbed her bag and left her house for the guild._

 _She walked on the side of the river and said 'good morning' to the boatmen as she passed them, as she did every morning, humming out of pure joy. When she had to hop off, she practically skipped the rest of the way to the guild, smiling at passers by._

 _She burst through the guild doors and made her way straight to Mira._

" _Good morning, Mira~!" she chimed, climbing up on to a bar stool, still humming a little._

" _Good morning, Lucy! What's got you in such a good mood today?" she asked, curiosity sparkling in her beautiful sapphire eyes._

" _Nothing much, I'm just looking forward to going on another mission! By the way, have you seen Natsu or Happy around?" Lucy smiled, a genuine, heart-warming smile._

" _Hmm" Mira said, Lucy was unsure if it was for her answer or for her question._

" _They aren't in yet, but you know Natsu!" Mira laughed, "He usually bursts through the door moments after you arrive if he's not already here!" she joked._

 _BAM!_

 _Lucy and Mira both turned to see the pink-haired idiot and his little exceed friend burst through the door, just as Mira had said._

 _Lucy blushed, spluttering to herself about it being a coincidence while Mira laughed away with a knowing look in her eye._

" _LUCY!" she turned to find Natsu and Happy shouting at her and stomping a path towards her._

 _Lucy rolled her eyes at her over-zealous friend and laughed just before he arrived._

" _Good morning!" she smiled, Natsu and Happy looking a bit confused at her good morning._

" _I thought you were mad, Luce…" Natsu said quietly, scratching the back of his head._

" _Aye! You were a real monster, all red eyes and steam coming out of your ears!" Happy agreed. Lucy tried her best not to let it ruin her good mood._

" _I decided to forgive you" she smiled again. "Since you seemed like you were sorry" Natsu's face lit up like a light, a huge grin bursting from his lips._

" _But, Lucy!" Happy whined "Natsu burned all your panties!"_

 _Lucy went bright red, along with Natsu who had dropped his smile and decided to look at the floor._

" _Don't say that out loud! Stupid cat!" she said, pulling at Happy's cheeks._

" _I promised I'd pay for some new ones!" Natsu begged, still looking bright red and not making eye contact._

" _It's okay, I said I forgive you. I'm not mad, but you need to go shopping with me!" she said in a harsh whisper. "Also I may need you to make sure my skirt doesn't blow up" Lucy whispered quiet enough that only Natsu would be able to hear with his dragon hearing._

 _Natsu's face remained red and he nodded, not saying a word._

" _Lucy! Do I get a fish when we go shopping?" Happy sung._

" _NO! We're not shopping for fish, stupid, we're shopping for clothes!" she snapped. Happy looked disinterested._

" _That sounds awful!" he said in horror, "Natsu, you're on your own! I'll be spending time with a pretty white cat!" Happy blushed, leaving them alone._

" _I guess we should get going!" Lucy said, trying to gain her enthusiasm back._

" _Err, yeah…" Nastu agreed, tailing her outside the guild to the shops._

* * *

Lucy woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. She remembered her dream vividly. It almost felt like she had actually lived through that experience. She blushed at the idea of burning her panties and had an irrational fear she might find them all gone in the morning. As much as she liked Natsu, she did not trust him with her underwear.

She shuddered and looked around the room. It was still dark. She had obviously only been asleep for a few hours.

She desperately needed to rest.

But she was a little scared of her dream coming back. At the same time she also felt like she wanted to never wake up from her dream.

She decided to sit in the dark for a few minutes before building up the courage to close her eyes again. She let her mind wander to Natsu. She wondered if he had ever had a dream like she had. She felt a little insane for thinking it, but he had felt the same way she did, and that dream just felt so real...Lucy frowned to the darkness, her eyes still closed.

Maybe she would have time to talk to him about it tomorrow. But for now, she needed to sleep. With that sentiment, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **A/N Thanks for reading! also thanks for all the continued support :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So I've basically decided that I'm going to try and upload on Mondays. 1) It gives me the weekend to write 2) Fairy Tail Mondays! 3 (aka manga release)**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven - In Your Dreams**

Lucy's day seemed to pass slower than it usually did. She spent yet another day without seeing Natsu or Happy at all and it was really chipping away at her morale. By the time she finished her day she, once again, was completely exhausted. But this time she was determined to see her best friend.

Luckily, his room was only at the other end of the hall, so she decided she would get ready for bed first so she could collapse into it as soon as she got back.

She opened the door tentatively, checking if there was anyone in the hall, before closing the door quietly behind her and making a mad dash for Natsu and Happy's room. She knocked rather impatiently on his door, hoping not to get caught in her pyjamas. Despite them not being very revealing, she still felt uncomfortable sharing the sight with strangers.

The door swung open a second after Lucy finished knocking, revealing a knackered looking Natsu in bright red boxers. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned before he looked at her through drowsy eyes.

"Oh, hey Luce!" he tried to sound enthusiastic but he looked like he was about to collapse. At least she wasn't the only one being worked so hard.

"Can I come in?" she asked, looking at Natsu's figure blocking the door. He nodded slowly and lazily moved out of the way until there was just enough room for her to slip by.

She squeezed through the small gap, trying not to squeak at the close vicinity to his half naked body. She sighed as she got to the other side, eyeing the room that looked very similar to hers. A basic double bed, the whole room in neutral colours, the only other piece of furniture in the bedroom was a chest of draws. She could see the en-suite door opened opposite the bed.

She decided to sit on his bed while he closed the door at an achingly slow speed, his actions dulled by exhaustion.

Lucy decided to lie back and ended up crawling onto the right side of the bed, resting her head on the soft pillow. It took everything she had not to close her eyes and drift asleep.

"Why are you here?" he asked, crawling onto the other side of the bed, lying on his back, watching the ceiling.

She turned around to look at him.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages" she explained, yawning. "I said I'd see you guys yesterday but I was just too tired...where is Happy anyway?"

"He's at the end of the bed" he shrugged.

True to his word, she found the little blue cat curled up at his feet.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Tiring...yours?" he turned his head to look at her.

"Same" she gave a weak smile.

"I missed you too" he stared intensely at her. "If I'd know I wouldn't of seen ya, I wouldn't a taken this dumb job…" She laughed gently.

"At least we get paid"

"All you care about is money" he teased.

"Do not" she said playfully.

He frowned at her and suddenly looked serious. He also looked like he was going to pass out at any moment; his eyelids kept on fluttering down but he was refusing to let them close.

"You'll stay, right?" he asked, a frown still evident on his face.

"Stay where?" she joked, not understanding his serious tone.

"Here. Tonight." His eyes burning with a fierce look.

"Sure" she said, not really thinking of the consequences. She just wanted to close her eyes.

She felt safe with Natsu. It's not like he was going to be a perv anyway. He was too dense and way too tired.

Her heavily lids quickly felt shut. She was remotely aware of the covers being pulled from under her and draped over her. She felt Natsu shuffle on the bed and she suddenly felt warm, which only served to help her fall asleep faster.

"Night, Luce" he mumbled, just as she drifted off.

* * *

" _Luuuuucy!"_

 _She woke up to Natsu's voice. It wasn't unusual - he had a tendency to climb through her window in the middle of the night to sneak into her bed - but that didn't mean that it was welcome._

 _She opened her eyes a little to be greeted by a brilliant grin from her pink-haired partner. He watched her, crouching by her face beside the bed. At least he wasn't in the bed. He was a little too close for comfort and Lucy's face went bright red when she realised his face was only an inch away from hers._

" _Na-Natsu!" she spluttered, scrabbling backwards on the bed until her back hit the wall. He frowned at her, moving closer until their foreheads were touching. "What are you doing?" she squeaked, trying her best not to stutter. His brow was still creased in a frown, she could feel the wrinkled skin against her own forehead._

" _You ill or somethin'? You're all red and hot…" he said, pulling away from her. He tilted his head, much like a dog would, as if a different angle would clear up the problem._

" _I'm fine" she huffed, crossing her arms and trying to reduce the redness in her face. "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, accusatory. He sighed and let the frown slip from his face, happy that she seemed to be back to normal._

" _We gotta mission!" he grinned._

" _Aye!" Lucy heard Happy cheer as he flew in through her window. Happy flew onto Natsu's shoulder and gave him an indignant huff. "You left me, Natsu!" he cried._

" _Sorry, Haps!" he smiled softly, patting his little friend on the head, which seemed to perk him up immediately. "I just wanted to tell Lucy about the mission!" he gave him a toothy grin. Lucy couldn't help but laugh at them and feel truly glad that she was best friends with those idiots._

 _They had noticed her sporadic laughter and raised an eyebrow. And they looked at her like_ she _was crazy._

" _Oh!" Happy said, turning to Lucy "I didn't see you there, Lucy!" he chimed, ticking her off._

" _You're in my house, you damn cat!" she snapped._

" _Yeah" Happy snickered "I'm surprised I didn't notice you with all the weight you've gained recently"_

" _Come here, cat! You're dead!" she shouted as she chased him around the room - which mostly consisted of them circling Natsu and making him look rather ill. Lucy stopped._

" _What's up with you?" she asked to his green face._

" _Moving...feel sick...stop moving…" he gagged._

" _Really?! You're not even the one moving!" she rolled her eyes. He gagged a little more at the word 'moving'._

" _Eugh...I think I'm going to throw up…" he slapped his hand over his face._

" _Don't you dare!" she growled._

" _Look, Lucy! All your extra fat made Natsu feel ill!" the cat sung, flying out of the way of her violent swings._

" _You're both idiots! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she screamed, chasing Happy out of the window and giving Natsu a 'Lucy Kick' in the same direction. Instead of falling out he just hung limply, half in, half out. At least his head was out the window so he wouldn't throw up inside._

" _Happy!" he moaned desperately from the window. "Save me!"_

" _Sorry, Natsu! Lucy's scary! I'll meet you back at the guild!" he giggled and flew away in the direction of the guild, with an evil glint in his eye._

" _Nooooooo!" Natsu shouted dramatically. Lucy rolled her eyes and decided to ignore him, going to the bathroom and letting him remain collapsed over her window._

 _She made sure to lock the door behind her, knowing Natsu's bad habit of bursting in the room whenever she started to strip. She sighed and leaned against the door. As much as she loved her friends, they were very tiring._

 _She pushed herself off the door, removed her clothing and stepped in the shower, trying to regain a hold on her supposedly relaxing morning. She sighed as the hot water doused her tired body, waking her up and relaxing her muscles._

 _She decided to take a quick shower, to lessen the possibility that Natsu would kick down the door in a fit of boredom. She quickly poured some shampoo in her hair and massaged it into her head, humming at the clean feeling it bought her. She rinsed it out and gave her body a quick once over with shower gel before stepping out, smiling at the fresh smell she exuded._

 _She grabbed a towel, drying herself off, making sure to dry her hair, before wrapping it around her figure. She stepped out of the bathroom to find that Natsu had pulled himself off the window and was lying on her bed, his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling._

 _She grabbed her usual attire from her chest of drawers and slipped back into the bathroom before he could look at her._

 _She dressed quickly and dashed out of the bathroom, suddenly remembering the reason Natsu had come to her house in the first place; curiosity piquing her interest in his presence._

 _She had managed to sit on the end of her bed before he turned to look at her. She frowned at the idea that he was so deep in thought. He had lost his childish demeanour, his face seemed serious and a little weary._

" _So what was that mission?" she asked. His face lit up, his sloppy smile gracing his lips again, as if all previous thoughts were forgotten or were never there. She did notice his smile waver a little; the only evidence left of his serious thinking._

" _Master wants us to investigate the old Grimoire Hearts base with the rest of the team" he said, his serious tone contradicting his, obviously forced, light-hearted smile. He sat up and looked her in the eye, looking for hesitation or unwillingness._

" _Why would we do that? The dark guild was destroyed, the Second Master along with it…" she said frowning._

" _Apparently, Master had reason to believe that the old geezer had some dangerous stuff that's still hidden at the base…" he looked down, his worry making Lucy feel uncomfortable._

" _So it's serious…" she mumbled._

" _Yeah…" he replied softly. He shook his head to rid himself of his sombre expression and gave her a lazy smile. "We don't even know if it's true. But, ya know, it's always better when we're together! So what d'ya say? You gonna join?" he said, lying back down, watching the ceiling._

" _I can't imagine doing anything without you" she smiled and laughed softly._

" _Me too, Luce" he replied, making her blush. She was glad for the fact that he wasn't looking at her._

* * *

Lucy gasped awake for the second time in a row. Sweat lined her brow. She looked around to find that she was still in Natsu's room, which was now pitch black. She sat up, bringing her knees to her chest, not worrying about the movement of the bed cover waking Natsu up. She rested her head on her knees. She wasn't sure how to feel about her 'dreams'.

"Lucy?" she heard Natsu say groggily from the bed beside her.

She lifted her head from her knees and looked over at him. He was rubbing his eyes tiredly, lifting himself up until he was leaning against the wall behind the bed. She didn't really know what to say to him, so she stayed quiet.

"You stayed" he smiled sleepily, instantly relaxing her. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, let her legs slip under the covers again. She leaned against the wall next to Natsu and looked over at him. He seemed to be fighting his urge to close his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

"I just…" she tried to think of the best way to describe it. "I've been having some weird dreams…"

"Maybe its cause you're a weirdo" he chuckled softly. Lucy decided to lie back down under the covers, which seemed to make Natsu think that he had done something wrong. "I've been dreamin' weird stuff too…" he said quietly.

She looked over at him, his features laced with concern. She sighed and shuffled closer to him, a move that served to confuse him. She blushed a little, but was overwhelmingly relieved at their contact.

"Is it okay if I stay?" she asked timidly.

"Anything you want, Luce" he smiled, slipping back under the bedsheets, just as she had done.

Lucy closed her eyes, feeling peaceful. The lull of sleep finally calling her again as her panic dissipated. She cracked one eye open to see Natsu had also closed his eyes, a gentle expression on his face; he seemed content.

She closed her eyes again fully and felt Natsu throw an arm lazily over her waist, drawing her a little closer. She heard soft snores telling her that her partner was fast asleep and decided to let sleep take her as well.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I have had such a busy week so I am glad that I could get this out on time. Now that I'm settles back into Uni I should have some more time to write some chapters so hopefully there will be no more worries about getting this out on time! Thanks for all the favourites/follows/reviews since the last chapter update! Its really amazing to actually have people who want to read what I write ^-^**

 **I have been working on a few new pieces - a couple of song fics and just a super fluffy piece. So those might get released at some point. I have finished one of them but I want to do some editing on it before I release it.**

 **p.s. New manga release was awesome! ^-^ I love how the beginning was like 'men, get your clothes on! It's war time!'**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve - Wake Up, You're Dreaming**

Lucy woke up warm and comfortable.

At first, in her sleepy state, she was unsure as to why she was so warm in a house that, yesterday, felt cold and drafty. Then, as her brain started waking up in an effort to follow her body, she remembered she was in Natsu's bed. What would the staff think of her now? She had to get out before anyone found them.

Natsu was snoring loudly in her ear, his face buried in her neck. His arm, which before she fell asleep was loosely wrapped around her, was now gripping her as if she was his lifeline.

Happy, by his soft purring, also seemed asleep and content. The little blue cat was still curled up at the end of the bed by Natsu's feet.

Lucy, for some reason, knew that wiggling out of Natsu's grip would only serve for him to hold on tighter. As if to try and prove her brain wrong, she wriggled a little in his arms and consequently felt him squeeze her a little tighter. Luckily, he seemed to always give her enough room to breathe. Just enough.

She groaned and wondered whether it would be a good idea to turn around. She soon remembered her vivid dream and the awkwardness of his face being so close before, if she turned around now they would practically be kissing. And she didn't want that with her best friend. At least, she was pretty sure.

She sighed, knowing there was only one way she could wake him up now. Something she had been avoiding for fear of other people hearing them.

"NATSU!" she shouted, over her shoulder, directly into his ear.

"Gahh!" he screamed, jumping up into a fighting stance on the bed and finally releasing her from his constricting grip. She sighed, relishing her freedom. "Lucy! What's wrong?!" He shouted, still in a fighting stance, looking around the room to try and find a threat. She giggled and he relaxed, letting his arms fall to his side.

"What was _wrong_ is you were crushing me in your grip!" she pouted, sitting up to cross her arms. He frowned at her.

"You're a real weirdo, Luce" he complained, groaning before he sunk back under the covers, laying on his side to face her, to resume sleeping.

"We're supposed to be doing work you idiot!" she growled.

He turned onto his back, facing the ceiling, and shrugged.

"I told you, I don't want to do a job where I don't see you" Lucy blushed, watching Natsu intently. "So what's the point of doing work just to wait to see you when you're already here?" he asked, rolling over to once again face her, a serious look in his dark eyes that seemed to draw her in like a black hole. She blushed even harder.

"I-Idiot!" she shouted, trying to regain her composure and ignore the fact that she was getting all wobbly and flushed under his intense gaze. "We can't just stop a job half way through when we came all the way to be here! Plus I need the money for my rent!" she squeaked indignantly. "A-Anyway, It's not like it that fun just spending the day with me…" she muttered quietly, more to herself than to him. But he had excellent hearing.

"You're a super weirdo if you think I'd rather do this than spend the day with you, Lucy. But I guess you're right" he said, sitting up, not noticing the new blush that had graced her features. "We came here to do a job so we might as well get it done. And get you that rent money!" he exclaimed with a renewed enthusiasm. He turned to her to give her his infamous grin before bolting out of bed to get dressed, waking Happy up in the process.

Happy hissed a little at the rude wake up, but as soon as he saw Lucy, he slinked over, interested at her presence. He meowed, which Lucy took as a 'welcome', before curling up on her lap which was still covered by the sheets.

Happy looked up at her, a curious gaze, before looking back to Natsu, who was buttoning his shirt. The cat meowed, his eyes accusatory. Lucy blushed, again, not liking what the cat seemed to be implying.

"Shut up, you stupid cat!" she hissed back. "It's not like that!" she spluttered.

Happy meowed again, seemingly pleased with her adamant denial, he looked over to Natsu, who had stopped getting dressed to listen to their conversation. Lucy's eyes followed the cats to Natsu, who had an eyebrow raised, half in amusement, half in curiosity.

"Arghhh!" Lucy complained. "I hate both of you idiots! I'm going back to my room to change!" she snapped, which only served to amuse them more.

Lucy pushed Happy off of her lap and stuck her tongue out at Natsu before retreating to the safety of her own room, muttering about 'stupid boys' the whole way.

Luckily, she wasn't caught on the way back from Natsu's room. As soon as she got inside her temporary home, she leaned back against the door and sighed. She looked at the clock and was happy to see that she still had enough time to shower and get dressed before she had to go to work.

Lucy had just about the quickest shower of her life, not wanting to tempt a late arrival. She dried herself off and dashed to her clothes, hoping to find sometime to sit down and relax before she was worked like a slave again. She was glad that she only had to work in the house for a week, feeling a little bad for the maids that were working at the mansion permanently.

* * *

She had just finished sliding on her thigh-high, white socks before she heard a knock at the door. She desperately pulled at the hem of her too-short french maid outfit, before making her way over to the door and opening it. She found a well-dressed Natsu on the other side. She sighed, as he gave her a huge grin, knowing that she was not going to get a minute to relax before she had to work.

"Hey, Luce! I thought we could walk down together!" he smiled. "Plus I aint seen your costume yet and I wanna to make fun of you!" he chuckled mischievously. She rolled her eyes and stepped aside so Natsu could come inside, waiting for him to enter before she closed the door.

He migrated over to the sofa, jumping down on it eagerly as if he was waiting for a show. He watched her with his dark eyes, amusement sparkling in them. She gritted her teeth a little before letting herself relax.

"Just stay there and be quiet" she ordered. "I'm going to get my shoes on" he nodded, not taking his eyes off her.

She turned around to face away from him and marched towards the end of the bed where she had left her shoes. She quickly bent down, slipping each one on, as slowly as possible - to prolong Natsu's ridicule of her costume - almost cursing when it only took her a minute. She straightened herself back up and spun around to Natsu.

Natsu was not looking cocky, or amused. In fact, he had a red face, an open mouth, wide eyes, and was desperately clutching a pillow to his waist. Lucy frowned. Then she remembered just how short her dress was. And that she was wearing her sheer, lacy black underwear. Her face erupted in red as she realised she had basically just flashed him.

"Uhhh, Luce?" Natsu said slowly, swallowing thickly. "Your outfit aint as funny as mine…" he said, his wide eyes tracing the hem of her dress, which she consciously pulled at.

"T-The owner of this mansion's just a perv!" Lucy spluttered, bending down in a desperate attempt to pull her hemline down further. It only resulted in her showing Natsu a good view of her cleavage. His eyes widened again, his face blushing as he turned his head away from her. His knuckles turning white as he desperately grabbed at the pillow on his lap. She looked down and squeaked. She was not having a good morning.

"Sorry!" she shouted, standing upright.

"Nah!" he laughed meekly, looking at her from to corner of his eye to make sure she was back to normal before looking back at her completely. "Don't worry about it, Luce" he smiled "Want me to beat up that perv who made ya wear it?" he said, his lighthearted nature returned as soon as it had left. He jumped up off the sofa, back in the fighting stance he had earlier. Lucy laughed, putting the awkward fiasco behind them.

"Noo!" she said, whilst still giggling. "He's our boss, you can't punch him! We wouldn't get any money!" he whined.

"Who said anything about punchin'? That guy'd be knocked out!" he said, posing as if he had just defeated a monster. She laughed again.

"While I don't doubt your strength, I still want my money!" she said. He shrugged and sauntered over to her, slinging an arm over her shoulders.

"Ready to go?" he asked and she nodded, smiling.

They both exited, sighing as they realised they had to work another tiring day.

* * *

Lucy had been right in thinking her day was going to be just as tiring as the other two. She, once again, found herself collapsing on her bed.

She decided that seeing Natsu could wait until the next day, seeing as she had already seen him in the morning. As much as he would complain, she was far too tired to entertain any kind of company.

She dressed quickly and brushed her teeth a lightning speed before, turning the light off and dashing into bed. She snuggled closer into the inviting sheets, smiling a little to herself before closing her eyes and willing sleep to take her.

* * *

" _NATSU!" Lucy shouted, looking all over for her partner. She was panicking a little. The Grimoire Hearts base had been a lot bigger than they had all anticipated and, as usual, Natsu had run off on his own, leaving everyone else to chase after him. Only, Lucy had been left behind. The dark, uninviting scenery did nothing to calm her nerves._

" _NATSU! COME ON!" she bellowed, only to hear her cries echoing off the walls. She held herself as she walked through the dark, dank corridor, trying to to feel scared._

 _She walked for a few minutes before she found a large wooden door, open just a crack. Something was telling her to push it open. As much as her brain was telling her it was a bad idea, her hands kept moving through sheer curiosity._

 _As soon as her hands touched the heavy wooden door she felt terrified. But she couldn't stop herself from forcing it open to step inside the room. A single candle - which she assumed must have stayed alight through magic - lit the room in a dim, ominous glow._

 _The room was mostly empty, a single table sat in the centre of the massive room. Lucy walked towards it slowly, already feeling like she had walked into some kind of trap. On the table sat a lone book. It was open, the candle that lit the room was sat right next to it, inviting her to read._

 _She slowly moved her head over the book to look at what had been written inside. It was definitely not a printed book, the writing was scrawled in a hard to read style that had her squinting to read it._

 _As soon as Lucy had deciphered the title of the page her stomach dropped._ Death Magic, _it read. Lucy knew what the book was as soon as she saw those words. She stepped back, instantly in fear of the discovery she had made._

 _When she was younger, she had heard about the dark wizard Zeref in a lot of books she had read. She had read a lot about him, although little facts were actually known, she had always read them like a fairy tale. Like Zeref was the villain and there was someway to defeat him. The funny thing was, according to legends there was. It wasn't exactly a way to_ kill _him as much a way to understand what he made. Defeat him from the ground up. There was supposed to be a book. A book all about everything he had ever made. A book he wrote himself._

 _That particular book was sat in front of Lucy. And it scared her to death. The legend was that he had burned the book to hide his secrets. But if Lucy had found it, then that meant that Zeref was looking for it._

 _She tentatively touched the books page, sighing when she found it wasn't cursed. She then closed it to look at the cover. It was just a plain leather bound book that looked rather worn. Then she opened to cover. She frowned as she found a note scribbled in the same bad handwriting written inside the cover._ I'm sorry, N. _It read._

" _LUCY!" she heard Natsu shout for her. He was close._

" _NATSU!" she replied, running to the door._

 _The door closed just as she caught a glimpse of pink. She was trapped._

" _NATSU!" she screamed, banging on the heavy wooden door._

" _LUCY!" he shouted, she could hear him punching the door ceaselessly from his side._

 _Lucy collapsed onto the floor. Then she realised why the book hadn't been taken before._

 _She had noticed earlier that the rest of the base seemed empty, but it didn't occur to her until now that it had probably been raided. The base was less than conspicuous but its reputation before had kept it from being robbed. But the book looked almost untouched. She laughed bitterly as she felt the air being sucked out of the room._

 _She had been stupid enough to fall into a trap. An obvious one at that. She had just played into every cliché she had been fighting for the entirety of her life to defy._

" _Lucy…" she heard a small voice say from the other side of the door. She knew it was Natsu._

 _Lucy didn't know what to say. Should she tell him about the book? About the fact that she knew she was going to die? Or the fact that she knew that she couldn't stop it? None of the celestial spirits she had could get her out of this. She banged her head back against the door._

 _Maybe she should just tell him that she had been in love with him since the day she met him._

 _Yeah. Maybe that…_

* * *

Lucy awoke to the sound of her door slamming open. She took a deep breath, gasping for air. The dream had felt so real. More like a memory than a dream.

She snapped her head round to the door which had awoken her. She saw Natsu standing in the doorway in just his boxers, sweating and breathing heavily as he looked at her with desperate eyes.

Without saying a word, he marched over to her bedside and enveloped her in a huge bear hug. Her heart rate calmed and a soft smile reached her face. She pulled her arms out from his grip and hugged his shaking body back.

"Lucy…" he breathed into her neck, holding her tighter into an almost crushing hug. She softly patted his head, holding it to her neck.

"It's okay" she said. He nodded but took a few minutes before he dared to let go. He pressed their foreheads together and looked into her eyes, placing his hands on her cheeks. She blushed a little when she remembered the last thing she had thought in her dream.

He sighed, his warm, smoky breath washing over her face, his features relaxing a little and his muscles losing their tension.

"Safe…" he mumbled before rubbing their noses together. Lucy smiled through her blush, finding his gesture adorable despite their close proximity. He took a deep breath before dropping his hands from her cheeks and moving his face away. He made sure their skin touched in at least one place, brushing his arm against hers, as he sat next to her on the edge of the bed, as if he needed the assurance she was real.

"I don't like these dreams" Natsu whispered, not meeting her gaze. So he _was_ dreaming about the same things.

"Me either" she said, shuffling across the bed to make room for him. He seemed a little afraid at the loss of contact at first but then gratefully slipped into bed next to her.

"Can you promise me something, Luce?" he asked.

"What is it, Natsu?" she looked at him, an adoring expression on her face. Something she was not aware of.

"Don't die" he said quietly.

"I don't think I have the power to become immortal" she giggled. He grabbed her hand, cupping it with both of his.

"Then you're just not allowed to die until you're old and I'm already gone" he said.

"I'll try my best" she said and he nodded, seemingly happy.

He dropped her hand as they heard a meow. They looked over at the door to see Happy nudging it closed before running across the floor and jumping on the bed into Lucy's lap. He purred as he rubbed her chest with his head, eliciting a laugh from both Lucy and Natsu, easing the tension in the room.

"Can we stay?" Natsu asked, watching Lucy stroke Happy's back as he continued his ministrations.

"Of course" she said, smiling down at Happy.

The blue cat jumped off her lap so they could all settle into bed; Lucy lying on her side away from Natsu, while he tried his chances at slipping behind her and snaking his hand around her waist, burying his head in her neck and the soft golden hair that covered it. Lucy decided not to complain as she was just as worried as he was about dreaming. Happy decided to curl up by the pillow next to their heads.

Lucy closed her eyes, despite feeling awake. Natsu's steady breathing on her neck gave her goosebumps but steadied her own breaths. She felt him stir a little, realising that he was awake. Her eyes shot open.

He lifted his head from her neck, gently brushing her hair away until the skin was fully exposed before resting his head once again on the same spot. He made a sound a little like a purr before he nuzzled a little closer and started breathing evenly again.

Lucy felt her heart rate rising a little as she felt his lips against her neck.

"Lucy?" he mumbled into her skin.

"Yeah?" she replied, trying her best not to let her voice waver.

"Your heart beat is really fast" he commented, lifting his face away from her neck, making her even more aware of the loud drumming against her chest. "Mine is too" he said casually, putting his head down again as if to end the conversation.

After about a minute, Lucy heard Natsu snore softly in her ear. Her heart rate finally slowed enough to convince herself to let her eye drift closed, and soon enough, she was fast asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm actually pretty happy with this update so I hope you guys are too! :)**

 **Thank you for all the amazing support, its been interesting actually continuing with a story for once. I decided to update early as I had all my content finished so I hope you enjoyed it :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen - What Do You Mean?**

Lucy had dashed into the shower as soon as she had woken up.

Her mind was reeling. She endlessly replayed what Natsu had said last night to her in her head. It was a mind-numbing experience and that did little to help her sanity, especially after the circumstances of how she had met Natsu.

She put her head under the shower, hoping the water could ease her worries.

Alas, she was still haunted by his bizarre confession. What did it even mean?!

She had the horrible feeling she was growing to like Natsu as more than a friend. She wasn't sure if it was because of the dream she had or what he had told her after, but it had her heart racing.

She had taken a shower to try and stop her from thinking about her problem, but instead it had just given her more time to think. She groaned, washing her hair monotonously while she went deeper into thought.

What would she even say to Natsu? _If_ she did like him, then wouldn't it kind of ruin the beautiful friendship they had formed not long ago? Did she even like him? Then again, she did seem to have a think for his book character equivalent but she had just brushed it off when she met him. I mean he's _Natsu._ Somehow his childish nature had made her forget all about her major crush on the book character.

Lucy had finished washing herself a few minutes, but she was putting off getting out of the shower and going back to the bed. She had woken up an hour before she needed to but it wasn't like she could go back to sleep now.

Reluctantly, she turned the shower off and stepped out. She made quick work of drying herself. She realised she had forgotten her maid outfit and stepped out of the bathroom, praying that Natsu was still asleep.

When she looked over at the bed he was watching her contently.

"Natsu! Don't stare!" she said and blushed.

"You're the one in a towel, weirdo!" he shouted, though it seemed lighthearted.

"Just close your eyes until I'm back in the bathroom" she ordered.

"Sure" he sighed and did as he was told.

She grabbed her clothes and raced back into the bathroom, changing quickly, despite the fact that she still had a lot of time to kill. She stepped back into the bedroom and Natsu was still watching the door, waiting for her.

"Why did you shower so early?" he asked, yawning.

"I don't know. I woke up and then thought I might as well shower…"

"You should've stayed in bed, I couldn't sleep when you left"

"Sorry…"

"Just come back to bed, it's early"

"But I'm already dressed!" she tried to convince him, turning a little red at the idea of being back in bed with him.

"That doesn't matter. I'm tired, I just need a little more sleep, Luce" he begged, giving her puppy dog eyes she couldn't resist.

"Fine. But make sure you get back to your room with enough time to get ready for the day!" she said sternly before slipping under the sheets next to him.

He grumbled when he found she was far away and quickly looped an arm around her waist, drawing her into him until she was pressed against his stomach. He gave a loud sigh before settling down again, leaving Lucy wide awake.

She soon heard soft, rhythmic snoring in her ear and relaxed a little.

* * *

The rest of the week at the Everloo Mansion passed without a hitch. Lucy no longer had those strange dreams that felt more like memory and Natsu managed not to destroy anything - although he almost had few times.

Natsu developed a bad habit of slipping into Lucy's room in the middle of the night to sleep, a habit she hoped would end with the job. After him refusing to leave, she decided it was easier just to let him sleep in her bed than shout at him pointlessly and not get any sleep. It's not like she was strong enough to push him out.

Lucy sat on the train back home and a let out a large sigh.

She watched as Natsu slumped down on the seat across from her, going green as soon as his butt met the wood. Happy sauntered in after them and sat down next to Lucy, not wanting to be a victim of Natsu's delicate stomach. He quickly curled up next to Lucy and slept.

As the train left the station, Natsu made some horrible gagging sounds while Lucy ignored his and counted their money.

"I can't believe we actually pulled that off! Maybe I should go on more jobs with you guys!" she said, humming with joy.

"Yeah...fun...need Lucy...sleep" Natsu managed to say in between his gags. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"You should try to sleep" she said, turning her attention to the window.

She heard Happy scamper off the seat next to her and turned around to find Natsu had taken it. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against her shoulder. She was about to shout at him for moving, in case he threw up on her, but she stopped when she noticed his shallow breaths had evened out and were gradually becoming deeper.

So enough she heard him snore and sighed. At least he wasn't throwing up.

* * *

Lucy got back to her house in high spirits. They had completed the job successfully, Natsu had actually slept the _entire journey,_ and when they got back Mira had told Lucy she could work with Natsu whenever she wanted and just work in between. And now she was alone for the first time in a week practically.

It was late evening when Lucy had finally returned to her well-missed home. She decided she wasn't really up for much; the train journey had taken more out of her than she thought and she was looking forward to being back in her own bed again. Alone.

She was very confused about everything that had happened with Natsu at the beginning of the week and she was glad to get away from him so she could just _think._

Lucy was kind of worried about having feelings for her friend.

Natsu, at the moment, was pretty much the most important person in the world to her. He had befriended her, helped her meet new people, helped her get a job and supported her when she needed it. She didn't know what her life would be like without him.

And that's why falling in love with that idiot was a bad idea. Because she literally couldn't picture her life without him. And if he didn't feel the same, she would _have_ to live life without him.

She frowned, walking through to her bedroom to change into her pyjamas.

She couldn't stop thinking about when he had told her that his heart was beating really fast when he was lying next to her. Or the fact that he spent the majority of his nights cuddled up against her in her bed. Or the fact that he refused to go back to his own room.

She wasn't sure what to make of it. Natsu was dense. Everyone knew that. That's why he didn't have a problem showering with her and that's why he thought it was okay to keep breaking into her house. But was he too dense to know what love was?

She pushed through to the bathroom and brushed her teeth vigorously.

Why would he like her anyway? She was just a boring, rich girl who ran away from home as has no other friends apart from the ones he gave her.

She groaned, throwing herself on her bed, shuffling under the covers and turning out the light.

She closed her eyes and tried to will sleep to come, finding the room uncomfortably cold after all the nights she had spent next to Natsu, who was the equivalent of a human furnace. She tossed and turned until she finally gave into her tiredness, ignoring all complaints in her mind about the body missing next to her.

* * *

"LUCY!"

Her eyes snapped open immediately and landed on a half naked Natsu standing at her bedroom door.

"Natsu?" she asked, confused at his presence.

"Lucy~!" He whined. "There an old man at your door who's tellin' me I aint good enough for his daughter and swearing at me…" he walked over to the bed and laid down next to her, giving her puppy eyes. He put his head in her lap and his arms around her waist. "Lucy~!" he complained again. "Make him go away! I wanna sleep!" He nuzzled her lap and close his eyes.

Lucy was confused. She took minute to process everything he said before she shoved Natsu off her lap and ran over to the door.

Oh no.

"Lucy! What is the meaning of this? Who is this boy who's walking around only in his underwear and claiming that he's sleeping with me daughter?!" her father huffed.

"NATSU!" she shouted, deciding to deal with her dad later. Natsu quickly ran into the lounge and joined her by the door.

"What, Luce? Are we goin' back to bed yet?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"NO, you dolt! Why are you even here in the first place?!" she shouted.

"I couldn't sleep without you" he mumbled. "What if somethin' bad happened and I wasn't there?"

"Natsu…" she sighed. "Just go back to bed"

He walked back into her bedroom leaving the door open a crack; an invitation to join him when she was ready.

"Father" she said, before the blond man could speak. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm your Father! I missed you Lucy. I know I haven't been the best parent since your mother passed away, but I'm going to try and make it up to you. If that's letting you remain in this house then I shall do that. I don't expect you to come home, Lucy, I know you ran away for a reason, but please just give me a chance to be a good father again"

"Dad…" Lucy let all the emotions she had pushed away build up, and she burst into tears and ran into his arms.

"I'm sorry Lucy" he said, holding her close.

"It's okay, Dad" she pulled away and looked up at him.

"Now Lucy, I don't think you should leave your fiance waiting" he smiled.

"What the hell did he tell you?" Lucy asked, through gritted teeth.

"Well I asked if he was living with you because you were engaged and he said yes"

"That idiot. I'm not getting married, Dad" she said, making a not to punish the moron in her bed.

"Then you're sharing a bed with a man you don't intend to marry?!" he asked in horror.

"Well, yes...but he just sleeps on the other side of the bed and it's not like we're in a relationship or anything" she said absentmindedly, her father's mouth dropping. "WAIT. NO. I mean he just sneaks in sometimes. Ah. No. Not that either! DAD JUST GO! I'll meet you at Fairy Tail at six this evening, okay? I gotta kill somebody...not literally though...JUST GO!"

Her father paused for a second, as if he was going to say something, but when he saw her angry face he simply nodded and left.

She closed the door and sighed, leaning against it as if it could support her and all her problems.

"Lucy~!" she heard Natsu call from her bedroom. She slapped a hand on her forehead. He had just heard everything. "Come back to bed!" he whined.

She walked over to the bedroom and kicked the door opened. Natsu was giving her a wide grin but she was not in the mood.

"Stop treating my house like a hotel! I'm not your maid, I don't do what you ask and my purpose is not to be bossed around by you! And don't tell my father that we're getting married, IDIOT!" she shouted.

"Chill out, Luce" he said, suddenly serious. "I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. I don't even know what an engagement is, I just said it so he would stop shouting at me. I don't think that you're my maid…I mean you'd make a pretty good one but I'm going to stop talking about that because you're making your angry face...I just wanna sleep and I can't sleep when you're not here anymore...I'll go it's fine" he sighed, getting out of the bed and stretching.

"No, Natsu" she said quietly. He stopped stretching to look at her.

"No what?"

"No, you can stay. I know we had bad dreams and you're worried about me. I know I promised I wouldn't die...I owe you for everything you've done for me anyway"

"Nah, Luce. You don't owe me anything. I think I kinda owe you. Sorry for being such an idiot"

"It's okay, you wouldn't be you if you weren't an idiot. I like you" she blurted out. Oh no. She had just told him that she _liked_ him.

"I like you too, Lucy" he said, yawning as he crawled back into bed. Her heart stopped and he flipped open the covers and waited for her to join him.

She slowly crawled into bed beside him, lying on her side so they were both facing each other. He didn't say anything as he moved closer to her, pushing her down on her back and laying his head on her chest. She was acutely aware that he could, once again, feel her racing heart.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly as she had a silent freak out.

He yawned and closed his eyes, breathing softly.

"I like you alot" he breathed deeply before he started to softly snore.

WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!

Lucy stubbornly forces her eyes shut and tried to pretend that nothing had happened. She heard a soft but taunting 'meow' from the floor beside her.

"Shut up, Happy!" she snapped.

After a few minutes focusing on Natsu's steady breathing, she finally found herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! They always make my day :D Special thanks to CaptainJaz: That review made me so happy; you can ask my friend because I was a weirdo and texted him about it.**

 **I can't believe I actually got this finished and edited. I was very busy this weekend so I hardly had time to write. Also I was stupid and worked on other things...oops.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Early Chapter, yay!**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen - I Need You**

Lucy woke up to a loud bang coming from her kitchen. She sat up in bed immediately, looking around the room. She relaxed when she found Natsu was gone, meaning he was most likely the culprit of the loud sound, rather than a burglar.

She groaned and got up, following the loud sounds coming from the kitchen. She walked in the main room to find him stuffing his face in the kitchen, something she had become accustomed to. He turned round to look at her, a piece of burnt toast shoved in his mouth. He smiled around the toast, stopping all other actions when he saw her.

"Hey, Rushie!" He said, his words muffled. She sighed and walked around the counter to assess the damage.

"Morning, Natsu" She said, giving him a soft smile when she realised he hadn't broken anything this time. "You know if you just woke me up I could have made you breakfast" he shrugged.

"I was gonna go back to bed after I finished" he said after he finished his mouthful.

"Why?" She laughed, finding it hard to imagine that he was still tired after such a long sleep.

"Cause you were still sleepin'. I dunno, I like sleepin' next to you" he smiled and went back to raiding her fridge.

"Aww, you're like a puppy" she joked, giving him a scratch on the head to add to it.

"Mmm, I like that" he said, closing his eyes and dropping his hands to his side, pushing his head further into her hand. She immediately went red and pulled her hand away.

"Y-you're weird!" she spat out and he frowned at her.

"Why did you stop?" he asked, ducking his head to encourage her to continue.

"Because it's weird!" she said.

"But you do it for Happy!" he whined.

"He's a cat!"

"I don't see the difference!" he said, pouting.

"There is a big difference. You can ask anyone!"

"Fine" he moped, going back to the food half-heartedly.

"I think I'm just going to go out for breakfast…" Lucy sighed.

"Let's go to Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted, perking up a bit.

"They do breakfast?"

"They do for me!"

"Why am I not surprised?" she sighed, walking over to her room to get changed.

* * *

When she came back through into the lounge, fully dressed, Natsu was still just in his boxers.

"Uh, Natsu, where are your clothes?" she asked. He looked down at himself and shrugged.

"I left them at home when I came over last night" he said nonchalantly.

"How are we supposed to go out of the house like that?! Do you at least have some shoes?" she asked, knowing she was in a losing battle.

"Nope"

"You're useless…" she sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.

"Hey! At least I remembered my underwear!" he argued.

"I really hope that doesn't mean what I think it means" she cringed and went red.

"Whatcha talkin' about Lucy?" he asked, confused.

"Nevermind, let's just get to yours quickly so you can get changed"

"Okay" he smiled as she took her bag and her keys, pulled on her boots and made her way to the door.

She opened the door, trying to be as conspicuous as she could be with a half naked man following her around. She quickly locked the door as soon as they were both out and dragged him out of her apartment. When they were on the street she dropped his arm, trying, in vain, to disassociate herself from him.

Natsu seemed to have noticed her reluctance as he grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers, so he could lead her to his house.

Lucy couldn't help but go bright red at the stares they were receiving. Some were shocked, some outraged, but a large majority - mostly women - just stood and ogled Natsu's, admittedly impressive, chest. Natsu dragged her along seemingly unaware of the attention he was getting.

He swung their joint hands in between them and looked genuinely happy. Lucy assumed that the promise of breakfast was putting him in a good mood.

They had gone the majority of the way before Natsu said anything.

"Can I stay with you again tonight?" he asked.

"Natsu! You've stayed with me every night after...that evening. Don't you think we should spend some time apart?" she asked. She had begun to notice he had been very needy with her since they had that dream. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"I don't want to leave you alone…" Natsu said, his face suddenly serious.

"Nothing is going to happen to me" Lucy sighed. As much as she appreciated his concern, she felt a bit annoyed at his babying.

"But if something does and I'm not there th-" she put a finger over his mouth.

" _Nothing_ is going to happen. I just want to have some time to myself! Is that too much to ask?" she complained.

"But, Lucy!"

"Not 'but's. I just need one night"

He shut his mouth and frowned, dropping her hand and leading her around his apartment until they got to an open window. He hoped through.

"Just wait at the door. I won't be long" he said, his voice lacklustre. He was obviously annoyed.

She did as he said, walked back around to the door. It took Natsu about five minutes before he opened the door, fully dressed. He had a tight black t-shirt on that showed off his muscles and a pair of low-hanging grey sweatpants that somehow made Lucy redder in the face than when he was just in his boxers.

"We still goin' to Fairy Tail?" he asked, his eyes narrowed as he seemed to have caught her looking over his outfit.

"Uh, yeah!" Lucy said, snapping out of her trance, trying to sound light-hearted and bubbly.

"Let's go then" he said, waiting for her to move so he could get out. "Come on, Haps!" he called through the door, a small blue cat dashing out before he locked up.

Natsu led the way, having a quiet conversation with his cat as he walked ahead of her. It made Lucy feel a bit bad for insisting she needed time alone, but she'd be damned if she let him sleep in her bed for the rest of her life. Though she had a sneaking suspicion that it would end up that way anyway.

She watched Natsu with a smile as he became more animated in his conversation, describing what had happened this morning to Happy. His laugh always had a way of cheering her up. She was actually in pretty high spirits by the time they got to Fairy Tail.

Natsu pushed through the main doors and went straight to the bar, Lucy trailing behind. They sat down next to each other at the bar and waited for Mira to notice them.

"Morning, Natsu, Lucy" Mira said, smiling. "What can I do for you?"

"Just breakfast, Mira" he said. "I'm just gonna talk to Gajeel, I'll be back when it's ready" with that, he walked off leaving Lucy and Happy behind. Lucy frowned, debating whether to just tell him he could stay. She didn't like it when Natsu was sad. It a hundred times worse when it was her fault.

"Someone's in a bad mood" Mira said, raising an eyebrow at Lucy.

"Don't remind me. I feel bad enough already" she sighed, looking over to Natsu who was arguing with Gajeel.

"Lover's quarrel?" Mira teased.

"No! He just wanted to stay over _again_ and I just want some time alone" Lucy groaned, placing her head on the bar.

"Again?" Mira questioned.

"He's been really needy ever since we came back from our mission. He won't give me any peace and he just follows me around like a lost puppy"

"Natsu's just very protective"

"As sweet as it is, I do need _some_ time to myself!"

"Maybe you should spend your days alone and just let him stay with you in the evenings"

"I don't know..."

"Just think about it. You know it means he won't stay grumpy" Mira said convincingly, dropping a plate full of food in front of her when she lifted her head.

Natsu soon came bounding over to the bar when he smelt the food, digging in before Lucy had a chance to say anything to him. She was not enjoying the cold shoulder. She resigned herself to eating her food and watched him in silence.

She finished quicker than Natsu, as he was on his third plate.

"How much do I owe you, Mira?" she asked, thinking that paying for breakfast would make him a little less mad at her.

"Nothing. As long as you think about what I said" Mira said, giggling at her own evil plans. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Maybe you're right anyway" Mira gave her a huge smile and left them to it.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked, spitting food everywhere. His curiosity seemed to be stronger than his will to stay mad at her.

"It doesn't matter. Can we talk after you finish?" she asked. He nodded and continued devouring his food.

As soon as he finished, he pushed his plate away from himself and turned around in his seat to face her, his eyes searching her face.

"I know you're annoyed with me. So I'll make you a deal" she said. He narrowed his eyes but nodded. "You can stay over" his face lit up. "IF" he crossed his arms, looking at her suspiciously again. "You let me spent the rest of my day ALONE. That doesn't mean you can sit in my apartment while I do other things. It means you go back to your own home and you don't see me until its time for bed, okay? AND REMEMBER YOUR DAMNED CLOTHES THIS TIME" she shouted the last part as he already seemed to happy to listen to her.

He jumped off his bar stool to give her a massive hug.

"I promise" he said. "But does it start now? I mean, do I have to leave?"

"It starts when I leave Fairy Tail. I'm coming back here at six so don't come and annoy me. My dad is already worried about me as it is" she sighed and he nodded.

"Hey, Lucy, Dumbass!" Gray shouted, making his way towards them. He sat down on the bar beside Natsu and ordered a drink from Mira. He started drinking it as they continued their conversation.

"What's up, Gray?" Lucy asked politely, smiling.

"The usual. How's life with the idiot?" he asked, teasing Natsu.

"Testing" she said making Gray laugh.

"Oi! Stop teaming up against me!" Natsu snapped. "Lucy was mean enough this morning" he frowned.

"How?" Lucy asked.

"You wouldn't stroke me!" he whined. Gray spat out his drink and Lucy turned bright red.

"WHAT?!" Gray managed to shout in between choking.

"Well she started and then she stopped even though I said it felt good" he pouted.

"Lucy?" Gray asked, his voice strained through stress.

"NOT LIKE THAT YOU PERV! HE MEANS STROKING HIS HAIR, LIKE THIS!" She shouted, placing her hand on Natsu's head and stroking his hair. Natsu sighed.

"Mmm" Natsu said, his low voice sounded almost sexual.

Lucy snatched her hand back as Gray laughed.

"I HATE YOU GUYS!" she shouted, getting up from her seat. "I'm leaving! Remember, Natsu. No bothering me today" she said firmly before leaving a confused Natsu and a laughing Gray.

* * *

It was finally time for Lucy to meet her father.

She turned up at Fairy Tail just before six o'clock and was glad to see that Natsu had stuck to his word and was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Mira! Could I have a table in the back? My father is coming and we need a place to talk"

"Sure thing, Lucy" Mira said, walking around the bar to lead Lucy to a secluded table at the back.

"You're the best, Mira!" Lucy gushed.

"I see you're letting Natsu stay over again" Mira said, leaning over a chair to talk.

"Well I guess you were right" Lucy laughed and Mira seemed content.

"I'm never wrong" Mira winked and sauntered off back behind the bar.

Lucy slumped back in her seat and waited for her father to turn up, wondering what she was going to say to him.

"Lucy?"

She turned around at the sound of her voice to find her Father standing behind her. She watched him as he took a seat across from her, looking around the bar when he was sat.

"Hi, Dad" she said.

"This place is...interesting"

"This is where I work, Dad. All my friends work here too" she explained, trying to not get annoyed with him straight away.

"Well I'm sure it's lovely then" he said, turning his attention to her. "Lucy. I hope you took into consideration what I said the other day. I know you seem to be happy here. I just hope you'll consider letting me be a part of your life again"

"Dad, I never wanted to push you out of my life. I just wanted to be free. I didn't want to be trapped in that mansion any more. I didn't want money to be the only thing people saw in me. I didn't want to marry some stupid spoilt brat who would never love me. I'm happy now. I have friends who love me for just being Lucy. Not for being the rich Heartfilia heiress. If you can accept that and you can still love me for it then I don't see a reason that we can't be a family again"

"I'm sorry Lucy. I didn't mean to make you unhappy. I guess I got caught up in the money. If you can forgive me for being such a fool, I hope we can start over. I know it's what your mother would have wanted" he said, Lucy smiled, and got out of her seat to hug her father.

"I know. I miss her everyday" she said, clinging tight to him.

"So do I" he said.

When they finally separated, they decided to spend the rest of the evening talking about Lucy's new life. A few of her friends came over and introduced themselves.

"This is Levy, Dad. She's really clever and she's loves reading just like I do"

"It's nice to meet you" he said, shaking Levy's hand. "Thank you for looking after my daughter"

"I think you have to thank Natsu for that one. He's the reason she's with us now" Levy said.

"Ah! That's the pink-haired man who was half naked in your apartment this morning!" he said enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up in recognition. Lucy blushed when Levy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that idiot was Natsu" Lucy groaned.

"Where is he? I want to thank him for looking after my daughter!" He said, searching the bar for a flash of pink hair.

"He's not here right now. Lucy told him to leave because he was being overprotective" Mira giggled.

"Lucy!" Her father complained. "Why would you send him away if he's just trying to protect you?! I like the sound of this Natsu, despite the fact that he seems to have a tendency to sleep in my daughter's bed. You should call him back!" he cheered. Mira laughed again.

"I'm not calling him back, plus I don't have a way of contacting him anyway. I'll just pass your message along" Lucy said, hoping it would sate her father.

"You make sure he gets it" he smiled then looked at his watch. "I'm afraid I have to go back to the mansion, Lucy. I have a lot of work to do still. Make sure you come to visit" he stood up and hugged Lucy before making a motion leave. "It was nice to meet you all" he nodded to her friends.

"It was nice to meet you too…"

"You can just call me Jude. Jude Heartfilia" He smiled, and left with Lucy to the door.

"It was nice seeing you, Dad" Lucy said, giving him another big hug before he gave her a nod and disappeared into the night.

"LUCY!" Levy called, running up behind her. "Are you rich?" she asked.

"Not really. My dad is"

"Wow! That's kind of cool" Levy said and Lucy sighed. "But I think I like the Lucy that works for herself" Levy beamed at her. Lucy's heart swelled and she gave Levy a massive hug.

"You're amazing, Levy!"

* * *

When Lucy got home it was dark outside but Natsu was nowhere to be found. She decided to get ready for bed anyway, slipping under the covers when she was done and turning the lights out.

The house felt very empty without Natsu's presence and she was starting to feel glad that she had invited him to stay the night. As strong as Lucy was, she was still a little afraid that those dreams would come back to haunt her. They seemed to be gone since she was sharing a bed with Natsu, and now it was her first night sleeping without him.

She closed her eyes and tried to will away her uneasiness. Although it took a while, she was eventually able to calm her heart rate down enough to let the long day take it's toll and the waves of exhaustion finally lull her into a restless sleep.

* * *

 _She was going to die, wasn't she?_

 _She opened her mouth to speak but her voice came out barely more than a whisper._

" _Natsu" she croaked, clawing at her burning throat as she breathed in the last of the air in the room._

" _Lucy?" he asked, desperately clinging onto the hope that this wouldn't be the end for her._

" _I have to tell you something important. You have to listen" she wheezed, a coughing fit overcoming her after._

" _What is it, Luce? You can tell me anything!" he tried to assure her, she could tell her could hear her trouble with breathing._

" _I lo-" she started but that was it. That was all the time she had left. All the air left in her lungs._

 _She blacked out, only hearing Natsu desperately call her name before she lost consciousness._

* * *

 _She woke up and took in the biggest breath she could, sitting up despite the dizziness it bought her. She coughed heavily, her lungs not used to being full again. Her mind was spinning; she was very confused. She was no longer in the room she was before. Where was she?_

" _LUCY!"_

 _She turned around just in time to see Natsu and Happy lunge at her. She collapsed back on the bed with Natsu holding her tight and Happy crying into her shoulder._

" _We thought you were going to die!" Happy cried. Lucy tried to lift an arm to comfort him but Natsu had wrapped his arms tightly around her whole midsection._

" _It's okay, Happy" she said with a loving smile. "I'm here now, I won't leave you"_

 _Happy cried harder into her arm, soaking the gown she had on. She quickly realised that she was in a hospital._

 _Her heart ached at the sight of her two best friends clinging to her so desperately. She had almost lost them. That thought was unbearable to her._

" _Lucy" Natsu murmured into her chest, his grip increasing around her midsection until it was almost painful._

" _Natsu" she sighed. He raised his head from from her, his face looking gaunt and his eyes red. The sight felt like someone had stabbed her. He looked ill. He had lost his usual happy glow, he looked sad and utterly defeated. She pulled at her arms until he loosened his grip enough for her to release them and proceeded to hug him back, just as tight as he had her._

" _I need you, Lucy. You can't leave" he said, his voice hoarse. He put his head back on her chest, seeking her warmth._

" _I'll never leave, Natsu. I need you too" she swore, raising one hand to softly stroke his hair._

" _Lucy, I lo-_

* * *

Lucy woke up breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face.

"Lucy! What's wrong? I'm here!" Natsu shouted, dropping his bags to rush by her side, enveloping her in a big hug; comforting her as she continued to silently cry. "Shhh" he said soothingly, one hand stroking her silky blonde hair.

Her tears stopped but he took a few more minutes to hold her tight before he pulled away to look her in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his face wrinkled in concern.

"I just had another dream, that's all" she said, trying not to worry him, but her breathing hitched from all the crying.

"It's not just another dream if it makes you cry, Lucy" he said sternly.

"Just promise you won't leave" she said, echoing what Natsu had said to her in the dream.

"I'll never leave, Lucy. I need you" he said sincerely. Lucy's heart raced as she realised his words had matched hers.

"I promise I won't shout at your again! You can stay here as much as you like!" she cried, still worried.

"I might just have to move in here" he joked, trying to lighten the mood. She just ended up laughing and crying at the same time. He panicked. "I'm really not sure what to do here!" he said, his voice high-pitched from his worry and uneasiness.

"It's okay" she assured him. "I'm okay"

"We'll find out what this is, Luce. I swear"

"Thanks, Natsu"

"I think I have to thank you. I mean my life was kinda boring before you came, ya weirdo!" he teased. Her crying and laughing stopped and she gave him a big smile.

"Thank you"

"Stop thankin' me, weirdo!"

"But I want to!"

"Well I don't want you to!"

"Well too bad!"

"Can we sleep now?" he asked, sighing.

"Yeah" she replied, slipping back under the covers, watching him as he threw off his clothes and dived into bed next to her in just his underwear.

"Goodnight, Natsu" she said as he shuffled up next to her, wrapping an arm around her body.

"G'night, weirdo. Sweet dreams" he said, kissing the back of her head before he settled on the pillow.

It wasn't long before they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! And, as usual, thank you for all the reviews/favourite/follows! I hope you enjoyed it :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen - Lots More Adventures**

Lucy woke up still feeling a little exhausted. Though more emotionally exhausted than physically exhausted. In the space of one day, she had talked to the father she had left behind after running away and possibly been told by Natsu that he _likes_ her. It was more confusion than her brain could handle.

She was very aware that Natsu was pressed tightly against her, an arm blocking any chance to escape. His head had managed to slip lower down on the pillow during the night leaving his lips resting softly against her head.

If there was one thing that Lucy had learnt in her time sharing a bed with Natsu, it was was that he was impossible to escape from once he had a grip on you. That and that he liked to sleep in. So, as much as Lucy tried, she could not squirm her way out of his grip.

She sighed, wondering if there was a way to wake him up early from his slumber without him being grumpy for the rest of the day.

"Natsu?" she asked tentatively. The only reply she received was a loud snore to indicate that he was still asleep. "Natsu!" she shouted, resulting in a noise a lot like a growl and his head burying itself deeper in her hair. It was obvious that he was not going to budge.

She decided to try a new tactic. She squirmed a little more under his grip and managed to turn around. She started hitting him lightly in the chest, hyper aware that the hand that was around her waist was _very_ close to her butt. He groaned and she hit him again a little harder.

"Mmm, Lucy~!" he complained his face moving forward to try and find her hair again, instead their faces ended up millimetres apart.

"Err, Natsu?" Lucy squeaked, shivering as she felt her lips brush his with every word she spoke.

Suddenly, Natsu's eye snapped open. He looked extremely confused.

"Why are you so close?" he asked. He seemed to have the same problem as her as he spoke because as soon as he was done he jumped back away from her, rolling onto his back. "Err, sorry…" he said, red-faced and scratching his head.

"That's okay! It was my fault, I turned around to see if you were awake and you moved forward in your sleep" Lucy blushed.

"Oh. Sorry" he sighed.

"It's okay! It's not like you actually kissed me or anything!" she laughed awkwardly.

"It's not like it woulda killed us…" he grumbled quietly.

"I guess not" she whispered in reply.

Natsu rolled back onto his side, facing her once again. Lucy suddenly felt a huge amount of tension in the air and swallowed nervously. Natsu shuffled a little closer until they were nose to nose.

"It aint like it hurts, right?" he asked in his low, morning voice. Lucy gulped loudly but was unwilling to move away.

"Right…" she said, barely more than a whisper.

She was unsure what to do when he moved closer again. He was completely invading her personal space but she was unsure as to whether she was loving it or hating it. In all honesty, she was pretty sure it was the former because she had yet to make a move against what was happening, and she wasn't planning to.

He was literally a second away from pressing his lips onto hers when Happy jumped on his face. He pulled away, desperate to get the cat off of his face. Lucy's heart was pounding in her ears and she laid on her back, letting out a huge breath that she didn't realise she had been holding.

"What the hell, Happy?" Natsu complained at the cat, grumbling a few incoherent things after the cat jumped off the bed.

Lucy and Natsu sat in silence.

Neither one of them seemed to have anything to say. After Happy 'ruined the mood' they seemed to be unsure as to what to do next. Lucy wasn't sure if he actually wanted to kiss her or if he just got caught up in the moment. For all she knew he could be a secret womaniser. Though, with the image of his cheesy grin in her mind, it was something she highly doubted.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Can I still sleep over?"

"Oh...yeah, sure"

"Thanks"

"No problem…"

The conversation died and they were left in silence again. Lucy was desperately thinking of a way to get out of the situation without trying to look like she was avoiding him.

"Err, so who is having the first shower?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh, I guess I could, unless you want to…"

"No, that's okay"

"Cool"

"Why don't I make breakfast while you shower and then I can have one after we've eaten" she suggested, hoping the food would be a good distraction.

"That sounds great!" he cheered, jumping up from his position on the bed. "What's on the menu?"

"Um, pancakes?" she said, unsure of herself.

"That sounds amazing!" he said, coming around to her side of the bed as she stood up. "You're the best, Luce!" he cheered, kissing her on the cheek before leaving her in daze, dashing off to the bathroom.

She touched her cheek, her head spinning. And she thought she was confused _this morning_.

* * *

She walked through to the kitchen, her head still in the clouds, going through the motion of making pancakes without really thinking about it. It was only when it got to putting the batter in the pan that she actually paid attention; she didn't want to burn herself.

She had made twenty and finished the batter by the time Natsu came out of the shower sporting only his boxers, as he tended to when he stayed over.

"Mmm, smells good!" he praised, finding a place in front of the pancakes before stealing the majority of them and smothering them in syrup. He scoffed them down a he watched Lucy take her smaller share.

She didn't complain, she was used to his eating habits. It had been less than a month and Lucy knew, irrevocably, that he was now a vital part of her life. And it wasn't just that fact that she felt like she had already known him, or the fact that he had become irreplaceable, that made her trust him with her life. It was simply the fact that he was Natsu. And it amazed her that that was the only thing that mattered.

She watching him curiously as he hoovered down his food, getting it everywhere, and tried to pin down exactly what it was about him that told her mind - and her heart - that she could trust him more than anyone she had ever met.

Her mind wandered back to the events earlier and, consequently, she wondered if she could trust him with her heart as well…

"Oi, Luce! Stop lookin' weird!" he said, spitting food everywhere.

She might have to rethink that one. Who would fall in love with that monster anyway? She would have to be a complete weirdo…

"Oi! Weirdo! Stop spacin' out! It's creepy!" he said when she didn't look away.

She started laughing which just seemed to worry him. Weirdo, hey? Maybe she was a complete weirdo.

When she thought about it, the idea of Natsu with someone else was more than painful. In fact, the idea got her so bummed out so much that she dropped her fork and pushed her last pancake away, looking anywhere but Natsu. He quickly stole what she had left behind and she could feel his eyes on her.

"Hey, I liked that weird smiley face better than this stupid sad one" he complained as he finished the food.

She looked up at him, all of her emotions swirling in her head. He took a minute to assess her face before giving her a big grin. And then all of the spare, unnecessary, emotions fell away, and all that was left was her racing heart and the idea that she might just be falling in love with her best friend.

"That's the face I like" Natsu said softly.

"Yeah. I think I do too" she said, giving him her best grin before she got up to clean the dishes.

"I'll clean the dishes. You gotta shower, weirdo!" he said, pushing her towards the bathroom.

"Whatever you say…" she said in another daze.

* * *

"How did you get another one already?" she asked him, her mouth hanging open in surprise as her words stopped. He gave her a cocky grin.

"What can I say? We make a good team! Team Natsu for the win!" he shouted. "Where's Happy? We gotta get packin'!"

"Slow down! I don't even know what the job is!" she complained, watching Natsu stop in his tracks.

"It's easy! We jus' gotta go up retrieve some antique flute thingy from a guy and give it to another guy"

"That sounds like a lot of travelling, are you sure you can do it?"

"Yeah, yeah. We're leaving early so we can go on foot! See ya in a bit, Luce!" he shouted leaving her to curse at the air.

It had been a week since her 'revelation' and she had already been on two quick jobs with Natsu and Happy. She had only been home an hour before Natsu had turned up at her door with another Job flyer in hand.

She sighed and found her way to her sofa. She wanted to relax and spend a day in her bed but _no,_ Natsu just _had_ to do another job.

At least her bag was still packed. All she needed to do was throw in a couple more clothes and she would be ready. That meant that she had time for a real shower before he came over.

She got up and dragged herself over to the bathroom, smiling at the familiar setting. She quickly discarded her clothes and jumped into the shower, welcoming the feeling of the hot water on her skin. For the first time in a week she felt properly clean.

She sighed as she washed her body, thankful for the small pleasure she could get from cleaning herself; something she was sure not to have in the next few days.

Her mind automatically switched to Natsu, seeing as she had time to think. The guy was still an enigma to her. The more she got to know him, the more confused she got. Natsu seemed to flat out ignore the fact that he had tried to kiss her. Not that Lucy was even brave enough to bring up that subject matter.

She couldn't help but reminisce to the time she had shared her shower with Natsu. She laughed. She hardly knew him then but he still felt that it was appropriate to join her in the shower. She wasn't sure if he was extremely dense or extremely clever.

She grabbed the shampoo and started to clean her hair, putting the bottle down so she could do a good job of lathering up. She hummed as her fingers ran through her hair. Closing her eyes, she put her head under the running water to wash off the shampoo, after letting it do its job.

She pulled her head out of the water when she heard the door to the bathroom swing open.

"Luuuuuce?" she heard Natsu call, it seemed to be intended to be curt but after barging in on the bathroom his voice quietly trailed off.

She quickly wiped her eyes to find him stood still, his mouth agape, making no move to leave or cover his eyes.

She was unsure whether she should scream or not. So they ended up standing in complete silence for a few minutes, nothing but the sound of the shower running.

"Natsu?" she decided to ask, unsure as to what else she could say.

He seemed to jump a little, as if her words had sent a shock to his system. He snapped his mouth shut but continued his unabashed staring that was definitely not pointed at her face.

"Err, I just came to get you cause I figured you would already be packed from last time…" he explained, his eyes never trailing high enough to reach her eyes.

Lucy wasn't if she should be flattered or annoyed.

"I should just, err, leave…" he said, his eyes finally finding their way to hers, a blush forming on his cheeks.

His body made no moves to match his words. He stood there, lamely, as if he was waiting for her to give him instructions as to what to do next.

Lucy didn't trust her words so she simply turned off the water - she was done washing anyway - and stepped out of the shower, quickly grabbing at the nearest towel. Which just happened to be right behind Natsu. She could hear him swallow loudly as she reached an arm past him, their skin almost brushing.

The tension in the room quickly relaxed when Lucy threw on her towel. She watched Natsu squirm awkwardly, fiddling with the pockets of his jeans, before saying anything.

"You can have a shower if you like" she said, trying to sound casual but it ended up uneven; just like her heart rate.

"I don't think that's what I need…" he said lowly, barely more than a whisper.

Lucy sighed. So he was back to being cryptic again. She pushed out of the bathroom into her room and grabbed some clothes to change, not noticing Natsu's intense look as she pulled out some lacy, black underwear. She turned around to face him before deciding to change.

"Natsu?" she asked.

"Oh yeah!" he shouted, a little too loudly, slapping his hand over his eyes. She sighed, it would have to do.

She made quick work of changing, noticing the audible gasp that came from Natsu as she donned her underwear. It was kind of obvious that he was peeking; he was the least subtle person Lucy had ever met.

He had tried to kiss her and now he was peeking on her changing...he either _actually_ liked her, the same way she did him, or he had just discovered women were for more than just making babies. Why was he so hard to read? Did he not realise that she liked him? She felt like it was kind of obvious. She got teased about it by everyone else _all the time._ Even _Happy_ knew.

She pulled on the last of her clothing and sighed.

"Natsu, I'm done!" she called, despite the fact that she knew he was aware. There was an obvious opening between his fingers where his eyes where.

He dropped his hand at the sound of her voice and gave her a smile.

"Let's go on this job!" he cheered, checking over her outfit as if he hadn't already seared the image of her jeans and t-shirt into his brain. "Make sure you put a jacket on. It gets cold in the evenings" he warned.

"Isn't that what you're for?" she teased.

"If you want" he replied, cryptic as ever. With that, he walked out to the lounge grabbing her bags and pulling them through the front door.

"Hey!" she cried, pulling her boots on as she chased after him. "I wasn't finished packing!"

She grabbed her keys before locking the door and running after him and his blue cat -apparently Happy had been waiting outside - yelling after him. She stopped shouting for a moment to smile. Some things would never change.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post on a monday as usual, uni work is just catching up with me and it was a really busy day. I will probably not be double posting this week as I am super tired and it's impacting my imagination.**

 **Hope this chapter wasn't too bad! I think this fic is nearing it's end sadly but don't worry, I have a few more plans in the works for it before it goes anywhere!**

 **Thank you for all the amazing support as per usual!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen - Him, In The Wild**

Lucy was glad that she had chosen sensible shoes for once. They had been walking for most of the day and her feet were _killing_ her. But she was content knowing that it would be ten times worse if she had worn heels.

"How long until we get there? We've been walking for _hours_ " she asked, trying to keep up with Natsu's inhuman pace.

"Probably not until morning. We'll just make camp when it gets dark so her _highness_ can rest her feet" he sighed, still racing ahead of her.

"Remind me again why I agreed to go on this stupid job with you?" she snapped, she was getting tired and hungry and they had only stopped for a short lunch before moving again.

"Because you love...spending time with me. _Us._ " he said, pausing a little in the middle.

She squinted her eyes menacingly at Natsu and Happy's backs. Surprisingly, the blue cat was better at keeping in pace with him that she was. Natsu had also tied and adorable green bag to his back, full of fish, which she assumed was the cat's main incentive.

"I hate you guys" she complained.

She bumped into Natsu's back before she realised he had stopped at her remark. He turned around to face her with a frown.

"Really?" he asked, he voice seemed unsure whether to be accusatory or sad. Lucy rolled her eyes.

" _Yeah,_ because I'd go on _all_ those jobs and spend _all_ that time with you because I _hate_ you" she teased.

"You don't have to come with us if you don't want too…" Natsu muttered, looking down at the floor. Lucy sighed.

"You're such an idiot. Of course I don't hate you! You know most people would assume the opposite with all the time I spend with you" she said the last part quietly, blushing at her own words, hoping he didn't hear.

"You're a real weirdo, Luce. Stop sayin' stuff I don't understand" he huffed, looking up at her and crossing his arms.

"You're one to talk!" she retorted and stomped past him, continuing in the direction they were headed, despite not knowing the way.

"Oi, Luce! What does that mean?" Natsu asked, quickly catching up to her as her sore feet were slowing down. She stopped and looked at him. He didn't look angry at all, just inquisitive and it made her feel bad for getting angry.

"Nevermind, Natsu, I'm just tired" she sighed.

"Well you coulda jus' said so!" he smiled. "We can stop here if you like, the sun's gonna set soon so it aint like we're gonna gain much ground either way"

His smile was filled with so much childish glee that she could do nothing but return it. He looked like a puppy eager to please it's owner, it was both adorable and a bit worrying.

"Thanks" she said, taking a seat on a nearby rock to rest her aching feet.

"You coulda jus' said, dummy" he teased light-heartedly, taking a seat next to her, Happy curling up by their feet.

"I didn't want to ruin this job for you or slow you down" she frowned.

"You really are a weirdo" he said, poking her at the crease in her brow, which made her instantly relax back into a smile. "I care about you a lot more than these stupid jobs" his finger dropped from her forehead but stopped before leaving her face completely. He seemed to think for a minute before he cupped her cheek in his hand. "Don't forget that" he said, looking intensely in her eyes.

Lucy relaxed into his hand, sighing at the familiar warmth that spread through her body. She thought about how Natsu was very similar to his dragon-slayer counterpart from _Dragon's Den_. He was always warm and cozy, like fire. And, much like the dragon-slaying character, he was very hard to read.

Natsu had yet to relinquish his hold on her cheek, he hand started softly stroking her face with his thumb, something which Lucy was sure was absent-minded. Lucy blushed and the heat from her face seemed to snap him out of his daze. He quickly took his hand back to scratch the back of his head, he looked a little red in the face himself.

"Thanks" she said, again, trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere. He gave her a huge grin that quickened her pulse.

"You don't have ta thank me for anythin'"

"Yeah, I do. You don't even know how much" she said quietly. He gave her an inquisitive look but said nothing; he seemed unsure of what to say. "Shouldn't we get camp ready or something?"

"Oh, yeah, right…" he replied, though his thoughts still seemed to be elsewhere.

* * *

After an hour, Lucy had learnt that she was more of a hindrance than a help when it came to making camp. It had ended in a big fight and Natsu snapping at her until she sat down and let him do it alone.

She felt thoroughly miserable, none of the joy she had felt earlier was enough to break through her gloom. She watched Natsu finish up with a scowl.

He seemed just as unhappy as her. He worked mostly in silence, only making the odd comment to Happy, the frown never left his face.

They didn't fight much. In fact, Lucy was having a hard time finding a time when they had fallen out this badly. Sure, she got angry at him from time to time, but she hardly ever got mad enough that they stopped talking. But there they were, alone in the middle of the woods nonetheless, not talking to each other. The only contact they actually made was either threatening noises - a lot more on Natsu's behalf - or shouting.

Lucy looked up to find Natsu watching her with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face. Lucy wasn't really sure how to react. She had a feeling he was more mad at her then she was at him. But this no talking stuff meant that she had no idea what he wanted and not even a way to ask. Basically she was going to piss him off more no matter what she did.

He made a sound like an angry growl and disappeared inside the tent he had erected. She sighed and put her head in her hands. She heard a small meow and looked down to find Happy staring up at her.

"Don't tell me you hate me too" she cried.

The cat meowed again and rubbed its head against her leg. She gave him a sombre smile before she picked him up and placed him on her lap. He purred softly as she stoked his head.

"It's nice to know I don't ruin everything…" she whispered to him, scratching him under the chin.

"Happy!" Natsu shouted from inside the tent.

The cat gave her a seemingly sympathetic look before jumping off her lap and dashing into the tent to find it's owner.

Lucy went back to moping, putting her head back in her hands, watching the autumn leaves by her feet move in the soft breeze.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. If she went inside the tent she would just have another fight with Natsu, but if she stayed outside it was going to get dark and cold very soon. So she sat on the rock she had earlier, waiting for something to happen that would tell her what to do.

She looked up to the sky with anticipation. The clouds were grey, something that could be seen even through the dimming light. She had to wait less than five minutes before it started raining.

All of a sudden the gentle breeze turned into a downpour of heavy rain that soaked her though almost instantly. She shivered a little, holding her bare arms, still not sold on what she should do. So she sat in the pouring rain, miserable and wet.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted from inside the tent. She gulped, unsure as to what he wanted her to do. He opened the flap to look outside. "Get in the damn tent" he growled, leaving it open as he went back to lie on his sleeping bag.

She quickly obliged, making sure to leave her boots outside so she would not dirty the floor. She crawled inside and closed the tent behind her before sitting in the corner, away from anything her soaked clothes could ruin, shivering.

Natsu, in his usual bedroom attire - aka just his boxers - turned to look at her with a scowl.

"Don't sit in the corner like an idiot!" he snapped. "Take those off, you're just going to catch a cold if you stay in that"

She nodded slowly and started pulling off her wet clothes until she was down to her underwear. Natsu took her wet clothes and shoved them in a plastic bag. He looked at her expectantly.

"You can't stay in wet clothes, Lucy. You'll get ill" he said, nodding to her underwear which was obviously soaked through. Lucy blushed and covered her chest, he rolled his eyes at the action. "Jeez, Luce. I've seen you naked plenty of time before" he complained, "you have spare clothes anyway. Stop bein' such a baby!"

She looked around to find her suitcase and pulled out some pyjamas and a towel before stripping with her back turned to Natsu. She dried herself off with the towel before pulling on her pyjamas as quickly as possible. She handed Natsu her underwear which he quickly shoved in the bag and threw it off into a corner.

Lucy stood awkwardly in the middle of the tent, hugging her chest so the cold weather wouldn't reveal more than she wanted to. She watched as Natsu crawled under the covers, eyeing her just as curiously.

"Come on, Lucy. Don't just stand there, get in" he said, speaking to her again as if she was stupid.

She slowly crawled into the sleeping bag next to him, lying on her back and trying not to make contact with his skin. He growled, turning her over so that she faced him and pulling her until she was flush against him, chest to chest. She sighed at the warmth, ignoring her instinct to pull away as she knew it would only make him angrier.

"You're makin' me think you wanna catch a cold" he sighed, looking down at her with a sad expression.

"I thought you were mad at me"

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean I want you to catch a cold"

"I'm not mad at you" she offered, wrapping her arm around his side so she could snuggle in closer.

"Well you coulda listened to me"

"I didn't know what you wanted"

"Like I know any better" he sighed. "You confuse me all the time" he admitted.

"You confuse me too…"

"Maybe we can just be confused together. I don't wanna be mad anymore"

"I don't want you to be mad either"

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. It was a gentle gesture, but, with their close proximity, it made her whole body heat up. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears, something she noticed was happening to Natsu too. She stayed quiet for a moment, listening to both of their hearts racing.

"You're heart's goin' really fast again" Natsu whispered, which only served to make her heart beat faster.

"S-So is yours, idiot!" she said, trying, in vain, to keep her voice steady.

Natsu watched her silently and she had no idea what else to say, she just left the taut sexual tension hanging in the air between them.

"I didn't just choose this job because it sounded easy" he admitted, though she wasn't sure what for. "I chose it because the first town we go to has a woman who might be able to help us figure out why we feel like we know each other" Lucy's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked, suddenly excited.

"Yeah. I guess then you don't have to spend so much time around me to figure out what is goin' on. You can jus' go back to your normal life…"

"IDIOT!" she snapped. "Don't say stuff like that. My _normal life_ is _you_. I don't want to go back to that stupid mansion. I want to stay with you, idiot, and your evil cat" she huffed.

"Lucy…"

"Stop being so stupid" she scowled at him. "And stop hissing in the corner, Happy. You know I love you too, you dumb cat" she shouted at the cat, who stopped making angry noises, instead curling up at her feet and purring. She watched him, amused.

"Lucy"

She turned back to look at Natsu, ready to ask him what he wanted. But before she could even get a word out, he kissed her.

Lucy's eyes were wide, but she soon closed them, sinking into the kiss and pushing back against him. Her hands tangled into his soft, pink hair as she pulled him closer. Natsu kept one arm on her waist, the other cupping the back of her head.

She pulled his hair and he growled, opening his mouth to put her bottom lip between his teeth. She tilted her head to deepen the kiss while he swiped his tongue suggestively against her bottom lip. Before she could grant him access, he pulled away.

"I love you, Lucy" he sighed, putting his forehead against her. "So much" he closed his eyes and rubbed his nose against hers. She giggled, finding the gesture adorable.

"I love you too, idiot" she smiled. He pulled away from her and pouted.

"How do I know you don't mean the cat" he huffed.

"Because only an _idiot_ like _you_ would say that" she laughed.

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am" he growled, a cocky smile on his face, as he flipped her on her back and crawled on top of her, kissing her before she had a chance to say anything else.

The kiss was more urgent. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and continued where they had left off, once again trailing his tongue across her bottom lip. She opened up to him eagerly, sighing as his warm tongue rolled across her mouth, tasting every inch. She pushed her tongue against his, desperate to taste him, and he groaned into the kiss, pushing further into her, nudging her legs apart with his knee so he could rest his body flush against hers.

Lucy's mind was reeling, she wasn't sure if they were moving too fast or not fast enough. But, just as she was about to relax into the situation, Natsu jumped off her.

"Happy!" he whined, sitting down and adjusting his pants uncomfortably.

Happy had managed to jump on Natsu _again_ at the most inopportune time. The cat did not look happy at the lack of attention they were giving him. Next time they would have to leave him at home. Lucy blushed when the realisation of their situation dawned on her. The rain still pattered down softly on the roof on the tent and she could feel it lulling her into tiredness.

Natsu looked over at her and sighed.

"I guess we should just go to sleep" he frowned. She gave him a small smile and snuggled back down into the sleeping bag next to him. She turned to face him and kissed his furrowed brow. He soon gave her a sloppy smile and pulled her close.

"G'night, Luce"

"Night, Natsu"

She closed her eyes and settled down, letting Natsu's soft breaths calm her enough to sleep.

"I love you" Natsu whispered.

And then she fell asleep.

* * *

 **Wow, the end of that chapter took a long time to write. I hope it isn't too bad! Thank you for all the continued support on this story, it really makes me happy to know I'm writing for more than just myself! :) Thanks for being awesome! ^-^**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen - Wildfire**

Lucy's morning had not gone well. It had been absolute bliss for about five minutes before she remembered she had fallen in love with a complete idiot who had bought his cat, who seemed to love getting in their way, camping with them.

If Happy clawing at her clothes was not enough, Natsu seemed determined to convince her to stay in the tent for the _whole_ day and, once Happy had scampered outside after a particularly descriptive threat, had pounced on her immediately.

"Natsu! We have a job to do!" she shouted, doing her best to try and push him off. Her efforts were futile though.

He hummed against her neck, making her heart skip, and left butterfly kisses over her pulse point. He let his lips trail down her soft skin until he reach the top of her chest, causing her to breathe in sharply.

"It can wait" he murmured, letting the gentle touch of his lips tickle her sensitive skin.

"Natsu" she pleaded, unsure if it was for him to stop or continue. As much as she loved him, she needed a house and that meant rent which meant money and _jobs._ Jobs that he was trying to make her skip.

"Shh" he said, going back to kissing the top of her chest, his hand cautiously slipping under her pyjama top. His fingers gently traced across her stomach which made her shiver. Her heart was in overdrive and she was finding it hard to convince herself to continue to try and stop him.

His hands were just about to crawl higher, teasing the bottom of her breasts, when their favourite furry friend decided to join them again. Happy pounced on Natsu immediately and attacked his bare leg, biting down and holding on for dear life.

"Jeez, Happy! Stop biting my leg!" Natsu cried, jumping off Lucy to tend to his wound. The cat had let go as soon as Natsu had jumped off Lucy, looking more than smug.

Lucy sighed, glad for the escape, though she couldn't help but feeling a little annoyed at the cat's constant intrusions. She wasn't sure if he was trying to stop her or Natsu to be honest. The cat had never attacked her when they were together, opting only to lash out at his friend. Happy confused her a lot. She had grown to realise that he showed his love through rude, as far as she was aware, comments and nasty tricks. So she wasn't sure if he was trying to protect her or just trying to annoy her.

Natsu was also an enigma to her. It made her head spin at how such a naive guy could be so _not_ naive when it came to kissing her. She drove herself insane at the possibility that he could have done it _all_ before. She blushed and felt more jealous than she wanted to. It also made her feel a bit inadequate; she had never even gone on a date before and now she was with a guy who probably expected a lot more than she could give. She sighed again and looked over at Natsu.

He seemed to be in a quiet fight with Happy. He had a frown on his face but his eyes were still full of the childish wonder that had always fascinated her. She shook her head. Natsu wasn't some _normal guy._ He was Natsu. He was kind and sweet and he looked after her. Most of all, he loved her. The same way she loved him. So she would trust him.

But she was still too curious for her own good.

"N-Natsu?" she asked, blushing and feeling a little nervous.

He turned around and smiled at her, his usual sloppy grin. Usually it calmed her but at that moment it made her heart race.

"Yeah, Luce?" he asked, looking at her intently.

"Um, I don't suppose you've ever done this before?" she asked, quickly and quietly, blushing fiercely.

His eyes widened and he blushed the same colour as his hair. He scratched the back of his head and looked away from her.

"Ahh, um, no. You're kinda the first girl I've actually _thought_ about…" he replied, seeming just as nervous as she was.

"Oh" she said. "You're the first guy that I've ever thought about too" she smiled in spite of her red face.

He sighed, as if a large weight had been lifted off his chest, and she couldn't help but feel the same way. Although she felt kind of selfish for wanting Natsu to only ever love her, she hoped that that would always be the case. And she didn't mind if he wanted that as well.

"Er, well, we have a job an' stuff don't we, Luce, so let's get dressed and get a move on" he said smiling back at her before walking over to his bag to pick his clothes up.

* * *

"Why do I always have ta do this?" Natsu complained through gritted teeth.

Lucy was trying not to laugh as he gave her a piggyback. They had been walking for hours, just as they had the day before, but since her boots were wet, she had had no choice but to wear her heels. So, she had somehow convinced Natsu to begrudgingly take her on his back.

She was aware that, even though he complained, he enjoyed having her so close because, for her, it was exactly the same.

"We're nearly there, right?" she asked, holding on tightly.

"Yeah, we aint got that long left" he said gruffly, but she could feel the tenderness in his voice.

"Good" she said, smiling lovingly at the back of his head.

"Hey, Luce?" he said softly.

"Yeah?"

"What will you do when you know the truth?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we find out why we felt like knew each other an' hand all those weird dreams…"

"Oh, I don't know"

"Will you stay?"

"Didn't I tell you yesterday? I'm not going anywhere. It doesn't matter what we're told. I want to stay with you and that will never change"

"I guess I worry too much"

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm stronger than you think"

"Yeah, I know. Lucy" He sighed.

"I love you, idiot. Don't think that I'm ever going to leave you. People don't leave loved ones unless it's for a good reason"

"You're probably right..."

"Put me down, Natsu" she demanded. He obliged, kneeling down so she could slip off without hurting herself. She walked around him to look him in the eye.

"I won't leave. I promise" she said and smiled, she extended her hand to gently touch his face. "Trust me"

"I trust you" he said, leaning into her touch and giving her a half-baked smile. "I really love you" he sighed, closing his eyes as he leaning into her hand.

"I really love you too. So don't be a dummy and let's go do this job!" she cheered, waiting for him to lift his head from her hand before signalling for him to put her back on his back. He sighed but kneeled down regardless.

Lucy heard an outputted meow from the cat beside her.

"Don't you dare call me fat, you dumb cat!" she shouted, squinting her eyes at him.

"I dunno, Luce. You're kinda heavy…" Natsu teased. She almost smiled when he seemed back to his normal self but she wasn't about to let him get away with insulting her.

"Shut up!" she snapped.

"It's probably cause of those massive bo-!" she slapped a hand over his mouth to stop his from continuing. It didn't matter if he loved her, there were things she would never allow him to say in a public space.

"Don't say that!" she squealed, only letting her hand drop when he stayed silent.

"I don't know why you're complainin', I like em'" he sighed, continuing on, ignoring her light smacks to his head.

"Whaaa?" she cried, tired of being picked on by an idiot and a cat. And _he_ called _her_ a weirdo...

* * *

After walking for another half an hour, they had finally reached their destination. Natsu had let Lucy off of his back and they were looking around town for an hotel to stay the night in. So far, their searching had come up fruitless and Natsu was staring to get annoyed.

"Eugh! They all seem to be full! Why does this always happen?" he asked, pouting as he begrudgingly looked for another hotel.

"Maybe we should try this one?" she said, trying to cheer him up, pointing to a small, seemingly family owned, bed and breakfast.

"I guess" he sighed, leading her into the small bed and breakfast, looking none to happy about it.

They walked over to the counter and Lucy watched as Natsu asked about a room for the night, not seeming too interested in his surroundings. She wasn't listening properly, but she suddenly tuned in when she saw the woman hand over a shiny key. She was more than relieved at the prospect of having a warm shower and a real bed to sleep in.

She sighed, daydreaming about all of the thing she could do in a hotel that she couldn't do in the woods. She had decided a long time ago that she was not a fan of camping. While Natsu seemed like a wild boy who fit right in with nature, she felt like a princess that had stepped out of her castle for the first time.

Natsu turned to her and gave her a huge smile, knowing how much the idea of sleeping in a hotel pleased her.

"I guess we gotta room for the night" he said cockily, swinging an arm around her shoulders so he could lead her to their room.

"Finally!" she sighed, following him to the room gladly. She looked down to notice Happy wasn't with them. "Er, what happened to Happy?" she asked, a little concerned. She was aware that not many hotels liked, or even had room for, pets and she didn't want Happy to be sleeping outside.

He opened the door and led her inside before he bothered to answer.

"He's staying at the bar cause the owner doesn't want animals in the rooms" Natsu shrugged. Lucy blushed.

"So that means we're all alone" she stated, to herself more than to him.

"Yup" he said, locking the door behind them. He turned to her, a devilish look in his eye. "No interruptions" he smirked.

* * *

 **Sorry it's so late and also pretty short! I have been having a pretty busy week but I wanted to get something out. Thank you for reading and I hope its not too terrible! I have been having a bit of trouble with characterisation at the moment because I'm working on about five projects at once.**

 **Thanks, as always, for all the favourites/follows and all the lovely reviews ^-^**


	18. Chapter 18

**It's finally done! Sorry for the long wait. This chapter is most definitely M rated so I hope that, and the fact that it is over double the length of the last chapter, can make up for me being so late!**

 **Enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen - Farther Down**

Natsu had thrown her on the bed and taken her top off in the blink of an eye. His lips were on her neck, his teeth scraping against the soft skin there. Lucy wasn't sure whether to push him off or just surrender but, with the way her heart was racing, she was way more tempted by the latter.

"Lucy" he grumbled into her neck, opening his mouth to taste her.

She couldn't help by moan at the searing heat of his tongue, something that only spurred him on further. She could already feel herself getting hot under his avid attention.

He trailed his tongue down to the top of her breasts, growling as he reached the resistance of her bra. She gasped and he slipped his hands behind her back.

Gone was the sweet and bashful Natsu that she knew and loved. The man currently leaving _very_ prominent hickeys on chest and easily unhooking her bra was completely different. But Lucy was pretty sure she was okay with this side of him.

He pulled his mouth away from her chest so he could admire his artwork, giving a cocky grin before he slipped her bra off.

His eyes went hazy and half lidded as he took in the site of her completely topless. Lucy looked away, feeling uncomfortable under his heavy gaze. Before she could cover herself with her arms, Natsu pinned her down.

He breathed in heavily, groaning a little as he let his breath out.

"Fuck, Luce. Why didn't I do this earlier?" he teased, his voice huskier than usual.

Before Lucy could reply, Natsu gave her another cocky grin, which sent a fresh flare of heat between her legs, and replaced his mouth at the top of her chest. He teased her, brushing his lips softly over her breasts making her breathe in sharply as his lips whispered over her nipples.

"Natsu" she whined, not knowing if it was to beg him to stop teasing her or to continue.

His eyes flicked up in her direction, mischief and lust swirling in equal measurement, and held her as his mouth sank over her nipple. She moaned, not being able to keep it in, and snapped her eyes shut as she felt him twirl his tongue over the sensitive bud.

As if testing the waters, he gently bit down, causing Lucy to grip onto his hair. She bit her lip, not wanting the whole bed and breakfast to hear them, but it wasn't doing a good enough good of stopping her loud pants.

Natsu bit down hard, not enough to draw blood, just enough to leave a mark, and chuckled as her hands moved down to grasp at his t-shirt in a desperate attempt to feel skin on skin.

His mouth left her breast with an audible 'pop' as he hurried to throw his own shirt off, watching her all the time, looking ready to dive back in at any moment.

Natsu gave Lucy a moment to admire his great body - something that she always appreciated - before making a move to start again. This time, instead of going straight back to her chest, he put a knee in between her legs to part them and settle himself between them, core to core.

Lucy blushed, feeling his obvious arousal against her quickly slickening centre. Natsu gave her a wicked grin that made her heart falter before he went back to his ministrations.

Lucy's arms found their way onto Natsu's back, her nails digging into his skin as he sucked on her nipple.

"Ahh" she breathed, bucking her hips, trying to push them closer.

As soon as they felt their crotches brush, they both breathed in, and their grips on each other became tighter. Natsu left her breast to press a heated kiss on her lips.

"Shit" he breathed, grinding his hips into her again experimentally, closing his eyes at the sensation.

Lucy groaned softly, feeling the coil in her centre tighten. She sighed loudly as he pressed against her again.

Natsu jumped off her, confusing Lucy until she felt him tug at her jeans. She looked down at him to find that he had already unzipped and unbuttoned her jeans and had them half way down her legs. She helped him finish slipping them off until they were discarded on the ground and he knelled over her, his own jeans barely containing his erection.

He growled at the scene before him, making Lucy overly-aware of her flushed cheeks and parted lips. He gave her a dark look before he leaned farther down and started kissing the inside of her thigh. The higher he went up, the more her breathing faltered.

His hands slipped up the side of her legs until his fingers were hooked into each side of her underwear. Before she had time to register what was happening, he dragged his fingers down, removing her final piece of clothing and revealing her most intimate part to his eyes.

Moving at a speed that was hard to process, Natsu had already discarded her panties on the floor, his lips back on the top of her thigh. Lucy breathed in a ragged breath, another fire working its way down to her belly.

His eyes watched her intently as he inched tortuously closer to her throbbing lips, they lit up whenever she found it hard to breathe and he seemed completely mesmerised.

He suddenly stopped, his face centimetres away from the source of her aching, and took in a long, deep breath, closing his eyes as if to focus solely on his sense of smell.

"Lucy…" he growled. "You smell good enough to eat"

He flashed her a large, cocky grin as she took in his words and, just as her eyes widened, he lowered his lips to her warmth. Lucy gasps soon turned into moans as he ran his tongue over everywhere he could reach, tasting her, _teasing_ her.

He soon enough found her sensitive bud and rolled his tongue over it, watching her reactions and she arched her back and moaned loudly. She threaded her hands through his soft, pink locks as he continued sucking and licking her clit.

"Natsu!" she cried, more loudly than she had intended, as she felt the coil get tighter and tighter.

As soon as he brought up a finger to slip inside her, she reached her limit. She moaned his name as she came, arching her back. When it was over, she fell back on the bed feeling hot and out of breath, watching Natsu clean his finger and lick his lips. Once he was done, he crawled over her giving her a heated kiss to show her that he wasn't done yet.

Lucy let her hands wander down to the top of his jeans, teasingly brushing across his stiff erection as she unbutton and unzipped them. His breathing quickened and his eyes slammed shut at her teasing.

Natsu put his forehead against hers and helped her remove both his jeans and boxers in one fell swoop. As soon as she was free to admire his hardened member in its full glory, she felt the coil in her belly tightened again. She gasped, louder than she had intended, as she realised how large he was, and heard him chuckle lowly at her reaction.

Natsu lowered his body until they were skin to skin, able to feel each other's raw heat. Lucy closed her eyes as her kissed her again, letting his fingers explore every inch of her skin. She kissed back with just as much enthusiasm and eagerly arched her back towards him, feeling his erection rub against her sensitive bud.

He growled, pulling away from her for a minute to look her in the eyes.

"Lucy" he said breathily, "As much as I want to, _and I really fuckin' want to_ , I don't have any protection" he sighed.

"I'm on the pill so it doesn't matter" she said, biting her lips as the fire in his eye relit.

"I love you so fuckin' much" he growled.

He went back to eagerly kissing her, slipping an arm around her back and inching his crotch closer and closer to hers. He let his other hand grip onto her hip. He pulled away from her once again, his eyes assessing her face before giving her a quick kiss. Then, without warning, he pushed inside her making himself groan.

"Fuck, Lucy" he moaned.

Lucy bit her lip as he broke through her virginal resistance until her was fully seated. He watched her face, obviously trying to ignore his own pleasure until she was comfortable.

As soon as the throbbing calmed down, Lucy felt a wave of pleasure wash over her and, with a renewed enthusiasm, lifted her head to give him a fierce kiss which he returned in kind. His tongue found its way inside her mouth and he growled, taking the opportunity to start moving in and out of her in a steady pace.

"Natsu!" she cried as he started to gain speed.

"Lucy" he mumbled into her shoulder.

"Don't stop" she replied, feeling her coil tighten once again.

With that encouragement, Natsu gripped her hips with hands with a bruising force and slammed into her harder than before. They both moaned and he started pounding into her, almost animalistically, drinking in her mewls of pleasure, enjoying the way she chanted his name.

"Natsu, I'm close!" she gasped, finding it hard to breath with each new wave of pleasure that he built up in her.

"Lucy" he groaned in response, "Shit, you feel so good"

As soon as he finished talking she felt herself go over the edge and she screamed his name loud enough for the whole building to hear. He soon followed after her, calling her name as he came, collapsing on top of her, completely spent. He rolled off her, not wanting to crush her under his weight, and breathed heavily.

"That was amazing" he exclaimed between his deep breaths.

"Yeah" Lucy agreed, breathing just as heavily and feeling euphoric.

Lucy turned her head to watch as Natsu put his hand behind his head and donned a large grin. He watched the ceiling for a minute, smiling like a madman, before he turned to look at her.

"Wanna do it again?" he asked.

"Don't we have work to do?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah but I don't wanna work" he said, rolling over and climbing on top of her, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. "I wanna play" he growled, placing another kiss on her lips, this one more heated, needy.

She sighed and he gave her a cocky grin and kissed her again.

* * *

It was the next morning by the time they had gotten out of their room, after a very satisfying sleep.

As they made their way to the counter to hand in the room key, Lucy was very aware of all the eyes on them. She turned red at the idea that she had been loud enough to attract all that attention.

Happy jumped onto the counter to greet them, meowing happily as he leaped onto the floor and rejoined their side.

"Hey, Buddy!" Natsu smiled at his cat, slinging an arm around Lucy and leading them all out of the bed and breakfast. "You know we coulda stayed in bed all day again" he whispered in her ear, almost as if he was trying to hide it from his cat.

"We do actually have to do _some_ work while we're here" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well then, let's get this over with as soon as possible" he replied, giving her a wicked smile.

Lucy blushed against her will and looked away from his heated gaze. Happy meowed from Natsu's side, annoyed that they seemed to be closer than ever.

"So where are we going first?" she asked, trying to ignore both of them.

"Ah, I think we're gonna go ta that woman I was tellin' you about" he sighed.

"So we can finally work this all out" she said, smiling.

"S'not like it matters anymore" Natsu said quietly.

"Maybe not, but I still want to know. It's what brought us together in the first place"

"Yeah...let's jus' go" he said, giving her a small smile before he lead her down the road and down to their inevitable answers.

* * *

"A fortune teller?" Lucy asked, unbelieving, reading the sign above the small shop.

"Yeah, I know whatcha thinkin' but Gray said she's legit. She told 'im he was a strippin' ice-make wizard in a past life and told 'im about Juvia" he said sincerely.

Lucy laughed at the story both annoying and amusing Natsu.

"I see not much has changed there then" she smiled.

"Yeah, he's still a stupid popsicle stripper" Natsu snorted.

"If you trust her so do I" Lucy said, looking at him with a smile.

They walked into the shop together, Happy following close behind. Their luggage was still on them as they had no place to store it and had planned on leaving soon after they had been officially given their job.

"Yo! Anyone there?" Natsu called to the seemingly empty shop as they closed the door behind them.

They watched as a woman, not older than her mid twenties, walked into view. She had long, black hair and dark eyes that sparkled with a wisdom that seemed beyond her years.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I was just sorting stock out in the back. My name is Ultear, what can I help you with?" she said, looking over them.

"Gray told us ta come here" Natsu said, assessing her as she was them.

"Ah" Ultear said, breaking out in a sudden smile. "You must be Natsu and Lucy. He told me to expect you. I know what you're here for. Come with me, I'll help you understand everything"

Lucy turned to look at Natsu who seemed to be content with following her.

"Just leave your bags behind the counter" Ultear remarked as they followed her and they did as she said.

They all made their way into a musty back room that seemed to be stuffed with random junk, there was a large table in the middle covered in a purple cloth and a crystal ball on a stand in the middle. Lucy looked at it rather unbelievingly.

"Don't mind all this, it's simply for decoration for the tourists" Ultear said, obviously following her gaze. "Though I must admit, I am rather fond of the crystal ball"

Lucy nodded as they sat down across from Ultear.

"I'm sure you have questions about my methods and I'm more than sure you have your doubts, so how about we do a test first, hmm?"

"What kind of test?" Lucy asked, not failing to notice that Natsu had been rather quiet since they entered the room.

"Just a test to prove the worth of my power" Ultear answered. "Before we start I want to mention that I don't read minds, nor can I tell the future, I can simply read the past, that is all"

"Okay" Lucy said, swallowing her disbelief. "So what will you tell us about our past?"

"How about what you did last night?" Ultear asked.

Lucy turned bright red and looked over to Natsu who still seemed eerily calm.

"E-er, N-no! How about further back! Tell us how we met!" she spluttered, trying not to be too obvious.

Ultear eyed her suspiciously but batted it off quickly.

"How about I tell you Natsu's side of the story" she said with a smile.

"Okay"

"Well then, now we've agreed, let's get started. Natsu, please give me your hands"

Lucy looked over to Natsu, watching him carefully, as he silently held out his hands to Ultear. She shuffled closer to him quietly and put a hand on his knee which seemed to relax him greatly. He sighed and looked over to her, smiling just a little before he turned his attention back to Ultear.

"We'll go from when you first saw her to when you first talked...in this lifetime of course" she teased. "Well then, I guess it all started on a sunny day, how original…"

* * *

 _Natsu laid on his bed deep in thought, something he wasn't used to - nor his cat for that matter -, and sighed._

 _He had felt a lot like sighing lately._

 _His life seemed to be taking a number of turns for the worse and there was nothing he could do about it but sit back and let it happen._

 _He had failed his last job, pissed off the only family he had and managed to hurt his best friend all in one week._

 _He just needed a sign. Something to tell him he should continue on the same path. He needed something good to happen for once._

 _Happy was pacing around the room looking panicked, something he had started when Natsu had begun to fall into deep thought. He wasn't sure if he was offeded or not by how his friend assumed something must be wrong with him if he was thinking. He looked as if it was the end of the world. Though, compared to others, he was quite a dramatic cat._

 _With another heavy sigh he pulled himself off his bed and stalked over to the door thinking that maybe some fresh air would help him clear his mind._

" _Yo, Haps! I'm goin' out, I'll be back soon!" he shouted, before grabbing his keys and exiting the building._

 _The sun was blaring in the sky and he walked down to the park. He found the nearest bench and sat down on it, deciding upon people watching to rid him of his heavy thoughts._

 _He had spent about twenty minutes staring at an old couple in the middle of a fight when she walked past._

 _He had almost fallen off his seat from shock. She didn't look real. She looked like an angel._

 _She had the most beautiful blonde hair, warm brown eyes and...his eye travelled lower down and widened at her amazing figure. He could feel his jaw dropping at the sight of her. She was_ perfect. _And also somehow familiar._

 _Natsu had never been the type of guy that was very interested in women. In fact he just wasn't interested in love - or even sex for that matter - at all. But the vision of that woman seemed to have changed that in an instant. Suddenly he was ready for a relationship, marriage, kids even and a helluva lot of sex. He wanted it all, if it was with her._

 _Without thinking, he got up and ran after her, at least desperate to know her name. But, before he could even say a word, she had disappeared._

 _He frowned, looking around. Maybe she was an angel after all._

 _After a while he gave up looking and walked home, a smile on his face and a renewed enthusiasm for life._

* * *

 _The next day, Natsu walked into Fairy Tail with a clear mind and a smile of his face._

 _He had dreamed of that girl a lot. The girl his mind told him was called Lucy. He dreamed of sneaking in her house at night to sleep next to her in bed, her waking up to shout at him despite the blush on her face and the sparkle of a smile in her eyes._

 _He sat down at the bar and waited for Mira, knowing she was working._

 _He looked down at the table and smiled, not being able to shake the amazing rush Lucy had given him. It made his heart race just like when he was in a fight, maybe even better._

" _Natsu"_

 _He looked up to find Mira behind the bar, hands on her hips._

" _Hey, Mira. I know you're mad but I came to talk" he said, his smile wavering._

" _I think you got it wrong, Natsu. I'm not mad at you. I knew it would never work out. I tried to tell her that for_ years _but she never listened. But you have to understand that if I don't pretend I'm a bad sister" she explained._

" _Aww, man, Mira. I'm sorry I messed everything up. She was my best friend and now she's leavin' cause of me" he frowned._

" _I'm actually glad she's leaving. She finally has the courage to go abroad and do what she wants to do. Don't feel bad. I'll miss my sister but she won't be gone forever" Mira promised with a smile._

" _I'll still feel bad. Lisanna said she loved me and all I could do was tell her I didn't think I'd ever love anyone"_

" _You're heart's too big, Natsu. You can't take everything on"_

" _Yeah, I guess. But it don't mean I don't wanna"_

" _Just trust me. Lisanna will get over it pretty quickly and by the time she gets back you'll be best friends again"_

" _I dunno. I think she might hate me more"_

" _Why's that?"_

" _Because I think I met the girl of my dreams. Literally"_

 _Mira's eyes lit up, her matchmaker senses taking over._

" _Tell me about her" she insisted._

" _Well she's blonde, brown eyes, big tits and a great ass…I think her name is Lucy"_

" _Interesting" she said, giving Natsu the horrible feeling that she was scheming._

 _A scheming Mira was never good news._

* * *

 _A week later, on a Friday night when Natsu was trying to sleep off the job he had just gotten back from, he awoke to a knock at the door._

" _Natsu! I know you're in there, open up!"_

 _He heard Mira shouting from the other side of the door. He got up from his bed and rubbed his tired eyes. He shrugged when he noticed he was only in a t-shirt and boxers, knowing that Mira wouldn't care at all._

" _Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'" He said in a groggy voice, still deep from sleep._

 _He slowly made his way to the door cursing about his lack of sleep. Though, when he opened it, he was suddenly wide awake. There, at his door, was Mira and Cana holding a passed out blonde -_ Lucy _._

" _Shit. What the hell?" he asked as he moved out of the way so they could bring her inside._

 _He followed them through to the bedroom where they put her down on his bed and proceeded to take her dress off. We he watched, not-so-apologetically._

" _Get out, and give us a t-shirt" Mira ordered._

" _Fine" he mumbled._

 _He obeyed, pulling his t-shirt off, as he couldn't be bothered to find a new one, and waited outside._

" _You can come back in now" she called._

 _Natsu immediately walked back inside noticing Lucy was now in his t-shirt, her dress and bra resting on his desk, he blushed a little at the sight and tried to ignore it._

" _Do I get to know what's going on here?" he asked._

" _Oh, sorry, Natsu. She passed out at the bar so we needed a place for her to sleep" Mira explained._

" _And that place is my house why?" he replied._

" _She was talking about you all night" Cana winked, deciding to take her leave when he flashed her a murderous look._

" _She's not lying. She was looking for you. It's funny isn't it?" Mira giggled. "Lucy seems just as determined to find you" she winked, leaving to give Natsu time to process her words._

 _He walked over to the bed and watched her sleeping form. She still looked like an angel. He sighed, pulling the covers from under her to drape over her body. Her half naked body was definitely not helping his newly dirtied mind._

 _He walked to the door, deciding that sleeping in the same bed with her would not make her happy in the morning, turning to look at her one last time before her closed the door._

" _Night, Lucy" he said, giving her a gentle smile._

 _He closed the door and went to crash on the couch, hearing nothing but the pounding of his heart in his ears._

* * *

 _He woke up to a scream._

 _It took him a minute to remember he had a guest but, when he did, he pounced straight into his bedroom door, ready to fight._

 _She still seemed to be screaming when he got in the room so he clamped his hands over his ears._

" _Gah! What the hell?!" he shouted, doing his best not to stare at her._

 _But he couldn't help the sparkle in his eyes when he realised they were finally meeting properly, because he knew she had changed his life forever._

* * *

"...and that is how you two met" Ultear finished, leaving both of them rather red in the face.

She dropped Natsu's hands which slumped at his sides. He looked a little disheartened.

They heard a phone ring and Ultear excused herself to answer it, leaving them alone together.

"Are you alright, Natsu?" Lucy asked in concern.

He turned around to look at her, his eyes still looking a little vacant.

"Does this change how you feel about me?" he asked, he worries leaking through, making his voice a little uneven.

"Yes" she answered honestly, her heart aching when she watched his face fall. "It just makes me love you more, idiot" she told him with a smile, watching his eyes light up.

"Really?"

"Nothing could make me loved you less, dummy" she teased.

"I love you" he said sincerely, taking her hands in his and placing a soft kiss on her temple.

"I'll be with you forever" she swore.

"How about eternity?" he asked, a slow smile forming on his face.

"Sounds even better"

* * *

 **I'm so sorry this took so long! I have been super busy with Uni work and I will continue to be until the second week of December sadly but I will still try and get more out!**

 **Thank you for all the favourites/follows and lovely reviews :) and to all of you who are patiently waiting for a new chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19

**First of all, I just wanted to say sorry for not posting new chapters in ages. I thought I would have a lot of time off at Christmas but it turns out I was just as busy :/ I am going to do my best to post as often as I did before the break so I will try have a new chapter out by next Wednesday :) Sorry for the wait, thanks for sticking by my story! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen - Where It All Began**

When Ultear got back once her phone call was finished, the atmosphere in the room was noticeably less gloomy. She retook her seat at the table, eyeing them curiously, but said nothing.

Natsu had grabbed Lucy's hand the second they had finished their conversation and did not look like he was going to let go any time soon. Despite his sweaty palms, Lucy was glad. She watched Ultear with interest, however the majority of her attention was directed towards Natsu.

"As I told you before, I have been informed of what's happening, but I do need you to tell me about any visions or realistic dreams. It tends to be commonplace with what I think I will end up diagnosing." Ultear spoke, giving them a small smile at the end, telling them she both knew more than them and was having fun with the knowledge.

Lucy looked over to Natsu, who was already watching her intently, and they both gave a short nod before going on to explain all of the strange dreams they had had.

"But it hasn't happened since we...have been sleeping in the same bed. Does that make a difference?" Lucy asked as Ultear's knowing grin grew.

"I will most certainly make a note of it." she nodded, watching them carefully. "I apologise if you think I am being rude, but I simply do not want to tell you what is happening prematurely and end up being wrong. I have only been given a few cases of this before and it can be...life-changing to say the least."

Lucy frowned, unsure how to take the news. Natsu squeezed her hand but said nothing.

"I think, perhaps, we will continue where the story left off. I have a feeling your answers will be revealed soon enough after that. Lucy, I think we should go from your perspective, give me your hand." Ultear offered her hand out to Lucy who willingly took it. "Let's begin,"

* * *

" _Lucy, I lo-" Natsu started, but didn't get to finish his sentence before they got interrupted._

" _LUCY!"_

 _Gray and Erza barrelled into the infirmary shouting her name, Natsu jumped away, his face bright red._

" _How are you, Lucy? We were so worried!" Erza asked, pushing Natsu out of her way as she went to grab Lucy's hand._

 _Natsu muttered curse words in the background, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Lucy watched him assess the room before silently leaving. She wanted to jump out of bed and rush to his side and tell him to finish what he wanted to say, but Erza moved back into her line of vision and Natsu was already gone._

" _I'm fine, Erza," she sighed, looking at the room which was now void of Natsu. "I think I should just get some rest. Thanks for coming, though."_

 _Erza nodded, punching Gray in the stomach when he looked like he was about to comment._

" _We'll come back later after you have rested then." Erza nodded, dragging Gray out by his hair, ignoring his protests._

 _As soon as the room was empty, Lucy sunk further into her bed covers and let the happy expression drop from her face._

 _In all honesty, she felt like crying._

 _She couldn't blame Erza and Gray for barging in and seeing how she was. She couldn't blame Natsu for leaving after they did._

" _Lucy?"_

 _She looked down to see Happy was still by her side. She managed a small smile but she couldn't help her misery._

" _Hey, Happy. Why didn't you leave with Natsu?" she asked, she tried to sound light-hearted, but as soon as Natsu's name left her lips it sounded dull and miserable._

" _He said I should stay and look after you because he had to be alone," Happy sighed, flying up to land on her stomach and give her a cuddle. "I miss him already."_

" _I miss him too, Happy." Lucy agreed, hugging the exceed tightly._

 _They held each other in silence for a minute before the door to the infirmary opened. They both looked up, hopeful for Natsu. Instead, Levy stood in the doorway, a large book in her hand. Lucy tried not to look disappointed, but Happy couldn't help it._

" _Hey you guys! Where's Natsu? I would have thought he would be here until you left. I mean he's spent all his time with you since you got here!" Levy laughed but stopped abruptly when she sensed the gloom in the room._

" _He left." Lucy said blankly._

" _Oh, Lu Lu!" Levy said, obviously understanding what it meant to her. Levy had known for a long time that she was in love with Natsu._

 _Levy frowned, walking to Lucy's bedside, looking both determined and angry, clutching her book with an iron grip._

" _I have something important to show you. I was kind of hoping Natsu would be here too, but I guess you two will have to do." Levy stated, laying the book she was holding out of the bedside next to Lucy._

The Ultimate Book of Charms _, it read. Lucy frowned._

" _I don't think that the best idea to get him to l-"_

" _NO!" Levy cried before Lucy could finish her sentence. "That's not why I wanted to show it to you. I actually wanted to show you a small paragraph at the back. It's about how to break a charm spell." Levy explained, opening up the book and finding the chapter, she thrust it into Lucy's lap causing Happy to fly above them._

 _Lucy looked down to the small chapter that Levy pointed to and began to read out loud._

" _Charm spells are nasty things that have been outlawed for a reason. Spells that make you do things against your will are always bad magic, but charm spells are particularly hard to break. As many people know, they key to alluding a charm spell is to gain awareness of it, but doing this is harder than expected. There are few known ways to do this. Distance and time seem to be the most well used option though they do not completely remove the spell, but the most effective way to break a charm spell is through the intervention of the affected's soul-mate. This will automatically break the spell. The best way to tell if this is the case, is if the person who's spell has been broken is the only one amongst many."_

 _Lucy finished reading and let the information sink in, remembering that day she first met him. When_ he _had broken_ her _charm spell. No one else had been affected by his presence. Just her._

 _Lucy's eyes widened. Did that mean they were soul-mates?_

" _Levy I don't know if this is true…" she tried to see if there was a logical argument against it._

 _Happy sat silently next to her, seemingly both in awe and shock._

" _That's not the only book that explains it, Lu! It's a fact. And don't think I forgotten about when you told me how you and Natsu met!" Levy said, excitement laced in her voice._

" _We're soul-mates…" Lucy whispered to herself. "Soul-mates." she said it again, louder, testing the word._

" _What?!"_

 _Lucy's head snapped up immediately to find Natsu's confused and shocked face. She blushed furiously and tried to turn to Levy for help, but she was already sneaking out of the room._

" _Soul-mates?" he asked, looking at her with confusion. "What does that mean?" he asked, frowning._

" _It means two people who's souls are always bound to find and love each other." she said quietly, knowing her could hear every word clearly._

" _S-So who's your soul-mate?" he asked, obviously having heard the end of her previous conversation. "It better not be Gray, or that stupid Loke!" Natsu frowned, crossing his arms and pouting._

 _Lucy laughed, unable to stop herself. Natsu looked shocked and more than a bit annoyed but waited for her to calm down regardless._

" _You're such an idiot!" she laughed, noting his unhappy expression. "It's you!" she laughed, trying to ignore the racing of her heart, hoping he wouldn't reject her._

 _He couldn't right? They were soul-mates…_

" _Me?" he asked, shocked._

" _Who else could it be?" she replied, stopping her laughter to look into his warm, dark eyes._

 _Within seconds of her finished her sentence, Natsu jumped on her, crushing her against his chest for a bear hug, kissing the top of her head affectionately._

" _I love you, Lucy." He sighed, letting go so she could look up at him._

 _Before she could stop the impulse, she grabbed at his scaly scarf and pulled his down for a loving kiss. She poured every ounce of love she had been hiding - for fear of him leaving her - for the longest time, into the kiss. It ended up being desperate, sloppy and passionate but he kissed her back, and that was all that mattered._

 _She pulled away reluctantly, knowing there was only one thing left to do before her heart felt whole._

" _I love you too, Natsu." she said, meaning every word of it._

 _Soul-mates. She could do soul-mates. An eternity with him would be better than anything._

* * *

Ultear dropped her hand with a smile and let the images sink in.

"I thought so," she said with a laugh.

"But how does that explain the dreams and the feeling that we knew each other? We didn't have it in our...other life..." Lucy asked, gripping onto Natsu's warm hand.

"I do have a theory for that," Ultear said with a smile. "I believe that, because you found each other faster in your previous lives, you started to experience what I refer to as 'soul calls'. It's not uncommon in soul-mates. It was a way of fate bringing you together. I imagine it stopped whenever you were together, am I right?"

Lucy flushed, gripping Natsu's hand tightly. "Yeah it did...stop, whenever we slept near each other." she admitted.

"Well, I hope I was able to clear things up for you. It is a true gift I have been given. I have a feeling I earned it through a great sacrifice," Ultear smiled to herself, looking miles away. "In case you are interested, you are not the first people I have found to be soul-mates."

Natsu's ears perked up, and Lucy looked over at him as his face lit up with interest.

"So who came here before us?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, as if he thought she might not share the information with them.

Ultear laughed lightly. "Maybe you should think about who recommended me to you. He maybe family but he didn't know how good I was before I showed him."

"Gray?!" Natsu barked, with wide eyes. He frowned, as if searching his brain for who Gray would end up with and then startled Lucy when he started laughing so hard he was crying.

Lucy ignored him and turned back to Ultear. "Thank you. For everything. How much do we owe you?" she asked, wanting to give the woman something.

"The pleasure of your company was enough." Ultear said, giving her a genuine smile.

Lucy didn't want to insult her by trying to force her to take their money, so she simply smiled back and nodded. Tugging on Natsu's hand to indicate it was time for them to go. Natsu stopped laughed and stood up with her but paused before leaving.

"Just outta curiosity, how did we meet in that other life?" he asked with inquisitive eyes. Ultear smiled.

"In a port town called Hargeon. It's a story I know quite well. Quite the epic, you could say. But anyway, I don't suppose it would be good to give too much away."

"I guess we gotta have an epic story of our own." Natsu replied, looking at Lucy, giving her that toothy grin that set her heart alight.

"Yeah, you're right." Lucy said, her heart thrumming in her chest.

They walked out without another word, grabbing their luggage - and their cat - and walking to the door. Just as they were about to exit, Ultear spoke up again.

"It was nice to meet you. I trust you will not tell my brother that I gave you the information about him." she smiled. They nodded in reply and exited the building to make their way to their next destination, to find their client.

* * *

 **I apologise for the short chapter, I just wanted to get this bit out of the way before I start with the next part of the story. I have few more ideas until I'm going to be finished with it so don't think this is the end!**

 **Thank you for all the support I've had on this story, reaching 100 followers was really awesome so I hope I can make this a good story for all of you!**


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